The One Who Signs My Paycheck
by Slashluv21
Summary: Cloud hated him. He wants to throw hot coffee at his face. Yet he wants to grab the man's face; show him what a real man can do. He didn't like following orders. Especially sexual orders. So why is Cloud falling in love with Leon? And what's this deeper side of him he's hiding from Cloud? But what can he do? Leon was his boss. After all, he signed the paycheck. CLOUDXLEON
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hola!**

**Yes, yes, I know. **

_**"Hey! Aren't you working on two different stories right now? Plus those two others you have a writer's block on?" **_

**Please don't hurt me. But I tend to create on average about 20-50 story ideas each week. But on average about four or five actually makes it to be thought out. And on average one or two makes the cut. **

**Therefore, this one made the cut. And I had to do it. Alas, I didn't abandon the other ones. And the two with the writer's block? I don't know what to do with those. I don't want to remove it, 'cause I happen to like the ideas, but I don't wanna continue them because I'll just end up rambling on about stupid stuff in it, not having a clue what to write.**

**So just bear with me on this one. I'm a multitask-er, a bad one at that. **

**If you didn't already skip through my ramble crap, I'm going to do the usual lay out. **

**Warning: VERY EXPLICIT STORY PEOPLE. Sex, smoking, naked people, suggestive humor, sexual themes, drinking, cursing, blah blah blah. If you weren't expecting all these things, then go shoot yourself. This_ is_ an M rated fic. Duh. **

**Disclaimer: Alas, thou don't own thy Square... for I aren't... not... lying... ._.**

**?**

**MOVING ALONG...**

**I'm done here. Let's get to busting this joint. **

**LOL, sounded so black right there. **

**Ignore me. **

**Enjoy! :) **

* * *

**Cloud **

_"Oh Cloud... you are the world to me. I just want you to know that," a man with long silver hair and green eyes reminded, holding up Cloud's chin. _

_"Then... why're you leaving me?"_

_"No, Cloud... you'll never understand. That's why I must leave."_

_"But wait! Don't leave me! You don't expect me to be alone, do you?!" Cloud pleaded._

_The man smiled. "I'm sure you'll manage..."_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned and blindly reached my hand out for the alarm. "Shut up," I muttered. It wouldn't stop. "Shut up... shut UP!" I shouted, sitting up quickly and turned to the right side of the bed. The man I was looking for wasn't here again, of course. As always.

"He's gone, Cloud. When are you going to realize that?" I mumbled, gently rubbing my hand down my face in annoyance. That man would never leave my dreams. I don't even want to say his name, for it brings bad memories. Memories I can't explain. Memories I can't erase.

I slowly turned to the beeping alarm, and turned it off. A note sat next to it, waiting patiently to be read. I picked it up and opened it, reading the contents.

_Job interview today. Get ready! _

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, and sprouted out of bed, once again leaving it undone.

I ran to the kitchen, taking a box of Honey Bunches and pouring it into a bowl. Damn it... the TV was left on again.

I opened the fridge in search on milk, but there was none. I groaned and looked around. No, I didn't have time. I had to improvise. No breakfast today. I also had to remember to go grocery shopping today.

I took a brief shower, not even rinsing very well, for I came out of the shower half covered in suds of soap. Without hesitation, I wiped it off with my towel. I can't be late. Not this time. I'm always late. This was my seventh job interview and my tardiness always manages to screw over my chances. But not this one. This was the last straw. After that, I'm giving up and turning to male prostitution.

I'm kidding, folks.

Kind of.

Not really.

I searched the insanely disorganized closet for a matching tie with my blue collared button down shirt. "Where the fuck is my suit...?" I mumbled to myself.

"I'm telling you, man, you're going to blow this one again," said Zack's words of wisdom. Too bad he was my best friend, so I had to put up with his constant shit that fell out of his mouth every day. "Ten minutes to get to your job interview and you can't even find your suit? Please, just give up."

"Will you shut up? I'm sure it's here somewhere," I replied, searching the back of my car. "Aha!" I rejoiced, pulling out a faded... dirty... wrinkly suit that smelled like it's been cramped there for weeks.

"Yeah, you know what? I'm gonna go suit-less again," I informed Zack. Zack laughed on the other end.

"You'll be lucky if they take you seriously," he retorted.

"Ha ha," I said dryly, as I hopped into my cheap, 2003 BMW. I revved the engine multiple times until it finally started, quickly backing out of the driveway. Looks like I'm going to be doing 80 again on the highway.

With almost a minute to spear, I parked my car very poorly into a parking spot, blocking two spaces, and rushed out of the car, almost forgetting my case. I basically ran toward the building as discreetly as possible, and waltzed into the door, strutting over to the front desk.

"I'm here for a job interview," I huffed, making it exactly on the dot. 9:30 AM.

The woman at the desk raised an eyebrow and spun her chair to a phone. "I'll be sure to let him know you're here... your name, please?"

"Cloud."

"... last name, sir?"

"Oh! Uh, Strife."

She pressed a button on her phone and held it to her ear. "Mr. Leonhart, sir, we have Mr. Strife waiting for you at the front for his job interview. Oh, okay. I'll tell him. Thank you." And she hung up. "She says he's busy at the moment. But he'll let us know when he's available. For now, why don't you just wait over there in the waiting room."

I slowly nodded. "Yeah... yeah, okay. Sounds good."

Her eyebrow quirked up again. "Very well, then." And she continued her work as a secretary, picking up a phone call. "Leon Tech Headquarters this is Larxene speaking. How may I assist you this morning? Yes, let me put him on the line."

I turned around and awkwardly walked over to the waiting room, seeing about ten other people sitting there, waiting patiently with magazines or phones in their hands. I hope they aren't all here for the same person. I don't have that kind of patience.

The place was very prestigious, showcasing its wealth very prominently. It had revolving doors, and well-kept elevators. There was a pack of business people observing the place while a guide with a microphone explained to them what they were seeing while she held a fake smile. There was a fountain inside and out, and lots of fake plants. The floor was extremely shiny and marble. It was 70 stories high, and you could see the janitors cleaning the windows through the glass.

There was a constant theme going on here. The women would wear whatever colored shirt they want along with a black pencil skirt and black 5" heels, with their hair pulled back into a bun, while the men would wear whatever colored shirt they wanted along with black slacks and black Italian loafers with their hair combed back. They all had a name tag, and they all had a wireless speaker in their ear to communicate with the other people in this vast building.

I touched my unkempt, spiky hair. As much as I've tried before, my hair isn't capable of being slicked back. If I somehow manage to miraculously land this job, they're going to have to put up with that fact.

The elevator dinged and opened, revealing a crying woman, rushing out of the building, in the same trademark dress code of the workers here. "He fired me! All because I grew a pimple on my forehead!" She quickly moved through the revolving doors, wiping her dripping mascara, and frantically drove away in her very expensive Mercedes.

I gulped. That's another thing I noticed. Not one ugly person worked here. Does he have a strong hate against ugly people? Is the boss ugly himself? This made me scared. I wouldn't call myself ugly, but I wasn't quite sure if I was "Leon Tech material."

I shivered. It was freezing in here.

Being cold... that reminded me of him. The man who left me. He never let me be cold. He would always give me his jacket or hug me very tightly to him, and at night...

"Mr. Strife?" Larxene called, holding the phone in her hand. I quickly snapped out of my flashback and stood up, trying to look as attentive as possible, as if I wasn't just re-imagining sexual images in my head of my past love.

"Yes?" I answered.

"He's ready for you."

I grabbed my case and walked toward the elevator, stopping next to her. She handed me a card. "This is to get around in this building. For safety reasons, and for privacy reasons, we require everyone who wishes to access this building to have their card on them, that way we know they mean business. The elevator is straight down. Your destination is on the 40th floor, second hallway, three doors down to your right. If you get lost, just follow the directions on the wall."

I nodded. "Thank you-"

"And another thing."

I turned to her.

"Mr. Leonhart can be... pushy and... and harsh. Just... get used to it. And just remember that he always gets what he wants. This is his 67th interview and no one's made the cut yet."

I gulped and nodded again. "Thank... you?"

She sighed and went back to her computer, shaking her head and mumbling something.

With that, I headed to the elevator and pressed the button with the 40 on it.

_40th floor added to destination points_, the elevator stated, and it started to move up. It stopped on the 23rd and opened its doors. A woman with short blue hair and a tall figure quietly walked into the elevator, pressing the 65 button and leaning against the wall. The doors closed again.

_65th floor added to destination points_, the elevator stated, and it proceeded to move along. I sighed. _This is going to be a while_, I thought, seeing as how fast the elevator was going.

The woman looked me over, forcing the sides of her lips to stay serious, although they were fighting a smile. She looked up at my face. "You look unusually young to be working here. And where's your name tag?"

"Oh, I don't work here. I have a job interview," I corrected, noticing that my clothes coincidentally matched the dress code. "And what do you mean, _young_? Everyone here looks young."

She laughed. "Of course everyone is. No one passed the age of 45 is allowed to work here. Hello early retirement. Besides, I'm talking about your general self. It doesn't look worn out, like the rest of us."

"Worn... out?" I repeated.

"I'm hiding it under my make-up, but I have extreme bags under my eyes from the lack of sleep I've been getting. The boss... he tends to tire everyone out with his attitude. Ever since he broke up with his partner, he's been even harder to deal with than before."

"Partner?"

"He's gay."

"Oh."

"Doesn't make him less harsh."

This made me a little worried. "Then why is everyone still working here?"

"Are you kidding? The benefits are really beneficial and the pay is amazing. Plus, it's easy to move up in rank. Just do as he says, please him a little, and he'll make sure your sitting on his right side at the next meeting. It's worth it in the end."

I slowly nodded. That made me forget all about the previous statements about the boss before. All I heard was "pay is amazing" and I instantly thought about ditching my tiny apartment and moving in to a cozy, roomy loft. Maybe even a better, more modern car. You know, one that doesn't require you to actually _roll_ down your windows.

She gave me a warm smile. "Aqua by the way."

I returned it. "Cloud."

She checked me out. "You're really good-looking. The boss likes good-looking people. That hair, though..."

I shrugged. "It wouldn't cooperate."

She laughed. "Whatever. You'll do fine."

"And thanks. You know... for the compliment. Am I really that good-looking?"

"Hot even," she confirmed, winking. The doors opened. _Arriving at 40th floor_, the elevator informed. I pointed to the open doors.

"That's my stop," I said.

She nodded. Then stopped me quickly. "Are you... gay?"

I froze. "How did you know? I don't act gay, do I?"

She shook her head and laughed. "No. It's just you didn't stare at my boobs like all the guys do here. It was weird. But I was right, wasn't I."

I lightly smiled. "Yeah. Spot on."

She let go of my arm and jerked her chin. "Go. You're late," she teased. I gasped and rushed through the doors. She laughed and shook her head again as the doors closed. That wasn't the last time I would see her. I just knew it.

The secretary was right. The arrows on the wall would say what room you wanted to go to and the direction to head in order to reach it. They were so spot on I effortlessly made it to the boss' office as if I worked there and knew my way around. And of course, various times I was required to flash my card to a scanner to access a hallway or open a door. Larxene was also right about that.

I stood in front of the boss's door, took a deep breath to calm my nerves down, and knocked on his door. I could hear his mumbling a few words. "Come in!" he called, and he continued to mumble a few words. I opened the door and saw him spinning a pen around in his hand while talking to himself. I stood there, not knowing where to go.

He turned his chair to me, revealing a very handsome man, looking like he's just getting used to age 30, with striking blue eyes, and brown hair neatly combed back. His suit was black, fitting the colors of the dress code he made, and his watch was thick with gold. His face was flawless, except for a scar that fell across his nose. It was that one imperfection that on an ugly person would look hideous, but on him, it made him look even more handsome, as if it was a reminder to people that he was still human and not an angel that fell from the sky.

And of course, he had an earpiece in his ear, like everyone else in the building. He's not crazy. He was talking to someone over the line. Silly me.

He pointed to the chair in front of his desk. "Sit."

I obeyed.

The room was huge, almost the size of the front entrance where you meet the front desk. It had many rewards and achievements posted onto the wall. Banners sat on a bulletin board, covered up by miscellaneous Post-It notes and schedules with red circles on them. The floor was a clean, well kept, navy blue carpet, unlike the marble floors outside, and one side of the wall facing the back on him was a huge window, revealing the outside and reminding me how high up we really were.

"I never asked for that, did I," he stated into his earpiece. Only, it sounded more like a statement than an affirming question. "Then fix that." And he pressed a button on his earpiece that made it turn off.

Immediately, he dug into a pile of papers, all of them about me. He still has yet to achieve eye contact with me. "Why are you here?" he asked as he skimmed through the papers, almost sounding like he was in a hurry.

"I have a job interview with you," I reminded him. I was getting use to saying that now. "My appointment time was 20 minutes ago?"

"Well time doesn't always listen to me, does it," he mumbled, dismissing my statement. I dropped it right away. He finally pulled a certain file out of the papers and observed it, narrowing his eyes as he critically analyzed it, making his judgment on me.

"How old are you, Cloud?" he asked me. Cloud? What happened to Mr. Strife? A little disrespectful there, don't you think?

"27."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Sir," I completed.

"Why are you here?" he asked me.

"I have a-"

"No," he said, holding his hand up. Still no eye contact by the way. "_Why_..." he started, leaning back in his chair. "...are you here?"

"Well, uh... I'm here to get a job here, sir. So I can earn a living, and be able to supply my needs," I answered slowly. Isn't that why everybody wants a job?

His face contorted to disappointment. Shit. I wasn't doing it right.

"What's your strongest and weakest assets about you?" he asked me.

"My strength is my determination and my weakness is dealing with cocky people," I answered bluntly. He huffed out a breath of air.

He shook his head. "Cloud, you're not what I'm looking for-" He looked up at me. He stopped. He stared. In fact, he stared for a long time, examining my face, picking out my features.

I looked around, nervous. Why was he staring at me like that? And for so long? It made me worried. It's probably the hair. Aqua was right. The boss obviously likes order based on my previous observations of the place. If his workers saw my hair like this, then all of them would rebel and- Oh, I'm not gonna land the job. As usual.

He cleared his throat and looked down at his desk, staring at nothing.

"Sir?" I asked, checking to see if he was alright. Mr. Leonhart closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, his face turning a faint pink. "Sir?" I asked again.

"Mr. Strife, you said it was?" he asked quietly, still looking down at the desk.

"...yes?" I confirmed. Now he wants to give respect? What's his deal? Is he bipolar?

He looked up to me, his face back to its regular color and his character was back to normal. He folded his hands on his desk. "You can't possibly be 27."

"I am, sir."

"We don't have a minimum age here, Mr. Strife. Don't be afraid to tell the truth," he lied, flashing me a very weak smile.

"I'm 27."

"And you said you have no job, whatsoever?" he asked me.

"I don't sir."

"Why?" These questions were going to lead up to personal ones, I could tell.

"Because someone was covering all my needs already."

"Who?"

See? Personal indeed.

"I don't feel very compelled to answer that sir-"

"Answer." He took a sip of his coffee on the table.

I pursed my lips. "My... my ex."

"Ex? And who is she?" Another sip.

"He, sir."

He swallowed the coffee too quickly and started to choking, coughing heavily. I reached my hands out toward him but he stopped me with a hand gesture. He eventually stopped coughing and readjusted his tie. "You're gay, Mr. Strife." Once again, it sounded more like a statement than a question. In fact, a lot of his questions sounded like that. I had to learn to adapt.

"Yes, sir."

He stared at me, narrowing his eyes and contemplating hard on something. I adjusted my spot on the chair in uneasiness and awkwardly looked around. He continued to stare at me as he asked his questions. "Who is he?"

"I thought you said I wasn't what you were looking for," I reminded, almost preferring to not land the job than continue his persistent prying into my personal life.

He bluntly waved his hand in dismissal. He leaned forward on his desk and smirked. The face he made was incredibly sexy, and it made me even more uneasy. I bit my bottom lip as hard as I could without making it bleed. "I say a lot of things, Mr. Strife."

I gulped. "Uh, Sephi-" My breath caught at the beginning of his name. All the memories of him rushed back into my head. I winced. Oh no. Not again.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sephi?"

I let out a shaky breath. "Sephiroth, sir."

He kept his gaze. His confident aura magnified. "Never heard of him."

"He's a... he's a male stripper, sir," I said, blushing, embarrassed of my ex's profession. What would he think of me, dating a guy who was a stripper?

Yet his gaze never moved. "I see," he mumbled. "And did you love him?"

I pursed my lips.

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response.

"Of course," I replied. And I still do, but he doesn't need to know that.

He glanced down at the papers. "It says here you're good at taking orders."

I was glad he changed the subject. I didn't feel like discussing my past love. "I used to be a waiter, so I'm used to the whole following orders in short time thing."

"How come you didn't give a picture of yourself in here when it told you?" Mr. Leonhart asked, searching the folder.

"I did, sir."

"Where?"

"It's right here," I stated, reaching forward to point to the picture. Instead, my arm slipped and ended up spilling his coffee all over his lap. How cliche. And unlucky. I gasped. "I'm terribly sorry, sir! Here, uh... lemme help."

"_Lemme_?" he lightly laughed. I ignored his comment and grabbed a couple of tissues from his desk and walked around to the other side of it. Awkwardly, I began to pat it down, the coffee bleeding through the tissue in a heartbeat.

I dryly laughed. "I guess tissue isn't the best material to clean people's laps with, huh."

He kept on gazing at me, a light smile on his face. I looked back at him, our faces extremely close. He was even better looking up and personal. And his lips looked so kissable...

"You're very cute," he mumbled quietly, our faces kissing distance.

"Oh, uh... thank you," I replied just as quietly. My hand slowly grazed over his dick, feeling a very hard lump that was large... and wet with coffee. My face contorted into confusion, looking down at his lap.

He cleared his throat and broke our eye contact, removing my hands from him. "It's fine. I have other suits to change into," he confirmed. His face went back into an unreadable expression, as it always was.

He pressed his earpiece on and got up, leaving the room without notice. I sat there, confused, not knowing what to do.

Minutes later, a woman came in, holding a binder in her arms, holding a fake smile on her face. "Mr. Strife, welcome to the Leon Tech Industries! We hope your stay here will be a pleasant one."

Yeah. I hope so too.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I just want you to know that this chapter is NOT a filler. You may think so from the side story being excessively continued here, but it's a part of the story. And you won't understand what happens in the next chapter if you skip this one. If you wish to, the main story part is towards the bottom of this chapter. However, you'll miss all the sexiness that goes down. Just want you to know that. ;)**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud**

Both of us took a sip of our beer, taking it the hard flavor. I sighed in aggravation of just... everything.

"So that's everything? He just upped and left, and then you made the cut?" Zack asked, confused himself.

"Basically, yeah. This really pretty lady ended up coming and telling me that I got the job. But the boss... he was a real head scratcher. His face was unreadable his tone of voice was so confident, and his attitude... it's like he knew he was going to get what he wants," I described, my face gradually changing to annoyance as I described the new person I would be working for.

"Bro, this guy sounds like a douche. Why are you trying to work for him?"

"Because the pay is amazing!" I exclaimed, grinning and reminding myself why I need to be able to put up with the boss.

"How amazing, exactly?"

"Well they gave me a packet on the rules and info about my job. I skipped everything and went straight to the payment section. On your first month working there they said you only make $150,000 annually. _Only?_! What do they mean_ only_?! That's as big as a doctor's salary! Then, they said it would gradually grow to the annual $400,000! Are you kidding me? I don't care if the boss was trying to kill me. At least I'd die rich."

Zack laughed. "Now I want to join. Where do I sign up?" he laughed. But we all know he was content with his job. Ripping his clothes off and dancing around sexily for ladies and men.

Sometimes Zack's body would make me jealous. When I see those abs, it reminds me of my wimpy arms. Or that gigantic dick of his. Sheesh, maybe Sephiroth wouldn't leave me if I had that kind of body. And it wouldn't hurt to leave my freaking 5"4 height.

Zack somehow managed to read my face and know what I was thinking. He laughed. "Cloud, you beat yourself up too much. Your dick isn't small. Trust me."

I went pink. "I thought we wouldn't discuss that..."

He grinned. "I'm just saying. And your body is fine. It adds to the whole cute look you got going on. Short height, kinda lean body, and a massive package way down there-"

"OKAY, ZACK," I stopped him. We both laughed. I loved how Zack always managed to make me smile when I'm down. I looked down. "But I don't wanna be _cute._ Sephi... he doesn't go for cute, obviously." Why is everyone calling me cute? Cute is for puppies. Cute is for babies. Cute is not for grown men.

Zack sighed. "When are you going to get over this guy, Cloud? He's an ass, and he left you because he wanted to see how many men he could reel in bed."

"Oh yeah? Then why was he with me for so long? Longer than any of the other guys he's dated?" I even remember the exact length. Four years, three months, and nine days. Call me crazy, but I really did love him.

"I don't know. I guess he did love you for a while, but then his assiness kicked back in and he remembered what he came to do. Hit and run, of course," Zack replied, rolling his eyes. "Besides: you were young, cute, and gullible and still a virgin. What grown gay guy wouldn't want that in his bed?"

I groaned. At least I'm smarter now.

Zack slammed the counter and grinned. "You know what? Let's go."

I looked up at him, confused. "Where?"

"To Power House!"

I gasped. "Are you suggesting I go to his stripper joint and show him how screwed up he left me?"

"No. I'm suggesting you go to his stripper joint and show him what sexiness he left you," Zack slurred, grinning stupidly at me. I widened my eyes and shook my head.

"No. No, absolutely not, Zack. I'm not you. I don't know how to be sexy and-"

"Just relax. It'll be fun, I promise. Hey bartender!" Zack called.

The bartender walked back to the counter, wiping down a glass. He jerked his chin. "What can I do for you pretty boys?"

Zack slapped down a $50 bill. "We're good now. Keep the change." He winked and got up, taking my hand and guiding him. I tried my utmost to stop him from taking me, but he was stronger than me. So I lost.

The bartender grinned with happiness and waved us goodbye. "THANK YOU!"

"Zack, don't do this to me!" I pleaded as he dragged me across the street to the Power House, lightly laughing.

He turned to me and held my face in his hands. "Cloud, you'll be fine." And he gave me a kiss on the lips. Quick though. Sadly.

I used to have a crush on Zack. He was really hot. But that died down a long time ago, since I was 20. Doesn't mean I don't mind the occasional expression of love from him. It's not like we didn't kiss before, it's just that it doesn't happen very often.

I slowly nodded my head. "Okay."

Through the doors we entered, and I scanned the room. As usual, the whole place was full of gay men, with the occasional lesbian couple walking around. Everywhere you turned there were people making out, or dancing very drunk.

Out of nowhere, an image of my new boss smirking at me flashed in my mind. That face he did... it really was sexy.

Wait! Stop that!

Sure enough, three guys were on the stage, already half naked and showing off their gigantic balls to everyone, causing the crowd to scream. And Sephiroth was one of the guys on the stage, his beautifully long silver hair flipping around sexily.

"Oh no, hide me! I can't do this!" I exclaimed, taking cover behind Zack. Zack laughed and pulled me close to him.

"Just follow me, okay? I got you."

And before I knew it, Zack had his hands around me. He turned me around, pressing his *large* dick against my back. We started swaying to the music. My face turned pink. I could feel his breath against my neck.

Zack smiled. "See? Just follow. And don't be afraid to add some sexy to it. We're trying to get Sephiroth's attention here."

Gently, he ran his hands down my waist, stopping at my hips and causing them to move back and forth against him. I've never danced like this before. Is this how he does it on stage? Sheesh, it even makes_ me_ feel sexy.

As Zack assumed, Sephiroth looked over to us and slowed his dance down a little, squinting from the low light and trying to see who it was.

I gasped. "He's looking!"

"I'm gonna try something here. Don't slap me." And he started to kiss my neck, slowly trailing up towards my face. He started to grind on me a little harder than before. Now my face was red. Must he be so sexy? Stupid stripper.

Sephiroth widened his eyes and stopped what he was doing, realizing it was me. Half of me jumped with joy. The other half wanted to disappear. Zack looked up and flashed Sephiroth a teasing look, then closed them again and went back to kissing my neck. Zack, without hesitation, grabbed my chin and turned my face to the side, facing him. And then he kissed me, long and hard. God, he was such a good kisser. I couldn't stifle my moan, becoming slightly embarrassed.

Sephiroth turned on his microphone attached to his ear. "Very sorry, ladies and gents. We're going to be taking a short break before we come back. Stay sexy." And he winked. Everyone cheered, happy that Sephiroth was going to come down to them and converse. His co-workers shrugged and took a break as well, leaving the stage and putting some clothes on.

Sephiroth grabbed his very tight gray t-shirt and jeans and slipped them on.

I stopped kissing Zack and turned around to face him. I couldn't help but smile. "That was hot," I mumbled to him.

Zack grinned. "Why thank you."

Sure enough, Sephiroth waltzed over to us and smiled, clasping his hands together. "Hi!"

I looked down, embarrassment and memories taking over. My face turned pink. Did he really see all that? What if he thinks I'm dating him? Shit, now I ruined my chances of getting back together. But... do I really wanna get back together?

Zack rolled his eyes and answered for me. "Cloud says hello."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and smirked. "I thought it was you. Wow, I haven't seen you in years. And you've-"

I slowly looked up at him. He caught his breath and licked his lips. "You've gotten cuter from the last time I saw you."

I rolled my eyes. There's that cute again. Makes me want to spit. Not on that perfect face, of course.

He jerked his chin to us. "So you're a thing?"

Zack shook his head. "Just having our fun, that's all. He can get freaky when he wants to." Zack winked at me. I sheepishly smiled and looked at the floor. Sephiroth nodded and slightly turned his body toward me.

"Listen, Cloud... can we talk?" he asked me. I looked up at him, my lips slightly parted from each other. Zack told me that's my seductive face, and I needed to look as seductive as possible.

"Uh... sure, I guess." I turned to Zack. He put his hands up in content while smirking, and walked away. I jealously watched as people quickly began to come up to Zack and start flirting. That's why I'd much rather be sexy than cute.

Sephiroth smiled. "You look great."

I looked down at myself. I looked normal - nothing extravagant was on me at the time. But I excepted the compliment anyway. "Thanks. You look..."

Hot. Stunning. Gorgeous. Sexy.

"Nice," I managed to sputter. I bit my bottom lip and avoided eye contact. Nice. How stupid.

"Cloud, I just want you to know I'm really sorry about what I did. I didn't mean to just leave you like that without a reason. Truth is, I did have a reason," he told me, moving closer to me. I did my best to keep control of myself.

"Like what?" I mumbled, looking up at him.

He looked down at my lips. "Like how I knew you were too good for me." His voice was becoming more husky, more shaky, as if he couldn't hold back much longer. I pretended not to notice.

"I don't understand. I'm jobless, in a shitty apartment, and my dog died from old age. And here you are, prancing around having $20's and $50's being thrown at you, everyone begging to get in your pants because you're so freaking hot." My face grew red. That last part wasn't meant to come out of my mouth.

Sephiroth smirked, that face always turning me on. "You really think so?" His hands grabbed my lower back and pulled me close to him. His breath hastened. "Damn, you're just so irresistible. I can't keep my hands off you."

I lightly gasped. All that lotion I put on to make my skin soft and smooth finally paid off.

"R-really?" I stuttered. Way to go, Cloud. Way to be smooth and seductive.

"I miss you so much. I hope you can forgive me," he breathed, his hand traveling down inside my pants. He gently squeezed my butt. He licked his lips again, his breath uneven. I couldn't help but steal a glance as his massive boner. I did that to him? I made him this lustful? What is it that I do that turns him on like this? Whatever it is, I'm going to keep doing it.

"I hope no one was better in bed than I was," he teased, lightly smirking.

"You took my virginity. No one will be as good as you were," I reminded, placing my arms around his neck. He quickly leaned forward a kissed me, pushing me against the wall and placing one of my legs around him.

Now I remember how much of a good kisser he was. He gently bit my bottom lip and tugged. I let his tongue enter my mouth, and he explored hungrily. He pressed his body against mine, his boner rubbing against mine.

"You see how much I miss you, Cloud? Please, forgive me," he whispered into my ear, nibbling my neck and giving it light kisses.

I moaned. "Oh, Sephi-" I stopped. There I saw him, sitting on the bar table, sipping his drink while staring at me. His expression was unreadable, as usual. It was my boss. Squall Leonhart. Watching me become horny for this man.

Embarrassment. Shock. Surprise. Humiliation. Fear. It all circled inside me. What was he going to think of me when he saw me at work tomorrow? Oh shit, what if he fires me? I didn't read the rules yet. What if there was a strict policy against public affection outside work?

Squall locked eyes with me for a couple moments, then placed his money on the counter, got up, and left the building.

My eyes were still wide with shock.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked me, noticing I wasn't as in to it as I was before. He stopped and looked at me, concern filling his face.

I shook my head. "It's... it's nothing." Sephiroth started to make his advances again, but I stopped him. "Listen, Seph, it's getting late. I should... you know. I got a job now. I'm gonna get up early and everything."

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows. "You got a job? Wow, I'm impressed, seeing how disorganized you usually are," he teased. Then he nodded. "Yeah, you should go." He pulled out a pen and wrote his new number on my arm. He smiled. "You should call that sometime." And with that, he winked and walked away.

I sighed. I should be happy. So why aren't I?

Zack walked over to me. "Had fun?"

I slowly nodded, my mouth forming a straight line.

He raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look like you did. And just so you know, I'm not for this whole "get back with the ass" thing."

I sighed. "I saw my boss, Zack. He saw me making out with my ex."

Zack widened his eyes. "Shit, that doesn't sound good."

"It's not."

He slowly nodded. "He'll forget about it. He's probably drunk and it'll all blow over next morning."

I agreed, plastering a smile on my face to comfort myself. "Yeah, you're right. He'll probably forget he next morning."

Only my gut said something totally different.


	3. Chapter 3

***EDIT* **

**I've decided to keep going with the story due to some inspirational words from my readers(and a flame PM, lol your still awesome though). Thanks for sticking with me, guys. :)**

**And as usual:**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Leon **

I harshly pulled over onto the eight car driveway and parked it, huffing and puffing in anger as I got out. My butler hurriedly rushed out and opened the front door for me. "Plaesed to sae you agayn, sire," he greeted. He was British. And most of my maids were Australian, some of them having Viking blood in them, and two more were of Asian decent. I was sure to include diversity. And of course:

All of them were beautiful.

That butler, always stepping out of his way to greet me. I really should thank him someday.

I entered the house without acknowledging the butler. I slammed my keys and phone onto the counter, ignoring all 42 of the missed calls and messages. One of the maids were passing by me, and gave a gentle bow of respect due to her culture.

"I ham very pleased to see you again, Meesta Leonhawt, sir," said the Asian maid. "Shall ha make you ha coffee?"

"No," I huffed, and I boarded my elevator, fiercely pressing my bedroom button and watching the door close on them.

The maids were always so nice to me. I really should thank them someday.

Once I was in the safety of my bedroom with the door shut and locked, I fell down onto my bed and sighed. "Why?" I moaned. I picked up the mirror laying against my pillow and held it up to my face. I examined the scar across my nose and gently touched it. The memories started to play back in my head at the sight of it.

_"You don't wanna love me? Your own uncle? I love you, Squall! Can't you see I love you?" _

_"No! Stop!" Leon screamed as his uncle continued to rape him. His uncle then threw him against the wall, grabbing a knife, his eyes filling with anger. 12 year old Squall yelped and squeezed himself into a corner. _

_"That's fine. You too good for men, huh? You too good for your own uncle? That's okay. I'll fix that. If you think you're too good for me, then let's make sure everyone's too good for you!" _

_And with that, his uncle slashed the knife across Squall's face, missing his eye and getting his nose instead. Squall screamed in pain, rolling around the floor, clutching his face. _

_"That hurt, pretty boy? Are you scared of how ugly you're gonna turn out when you grow up? No longer pretty now, huh! Ugly you are and ugly you will be for the rest of your life!" _

_Life! Life! Life! Life..._

I cringed at the painful memory, and gently put the mirror down. I'll never forget him. How he's ruined my life. I can't even look at myself in the mirror for more than ten seconds without grimacing in disgust. I could've been beautiful like my mother... like everyone else... but he had to do this to me. Thanks to him, I'm not even normal. I can't even like women.

_You know why, Leon? Because you liked it. You're a monster and you liked your uncle raping you. _

I shook my head and put my head in my hands.

That man at that stripper joint. I just had to find him. To see him. See how beautiful he was. To have the ability to capture the heart of the beautiful Cloud Strife, you have to beautiful yourself, don't you?

And beautiful he was.

Instant jealousy took over me. His hair, his body, his face, his aura... it was all too perfect. No wonder Cloud fell in love with him. He can never fall for an imperfect, ugly man like me. Hideous. A shame to humanity.

Hideous people have hideous personalities. Like me.

Why am I even trying to capture Cloud's attention? He's my worker. I can't be in a relationship with him like that! It's wrong. People will find it unfair. Next thing you know, I'm on the news trying to save face so my company doesn't go bankrupt. But still... his eyes. I can't stop thinking about him.

So when I saw him and Sephiroth like that... so close... hungry for each other, I guess it clicked inside of me. I knew I had to give up. No chance against him. Like an angel delivered from the sky.

I sighed. Ugly I am and ugly I will be.

* * *

**Cloud**

_"I miss you..."_

_"I need you..."_

_"You're just so irresistible..."_

_"Cloud... can you ever forgive me?" _

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned. It's gonna take me a while to get used to getting up early and actually _working_.

Why do I keep thinking about Sephiroth? Oh my God... I can say his name now without my eyes becoming watery! Perhaps I really do love him, and I want him back. But... the hurt he's done to me. How can I forget?

I grudgingly got out of bed, leaving it undone, and went to get some breakfast. There sat the package from my new job I got last night that I was too sleepy to open. My head started to pound a little. Just a light hangover, I guess.

Curious of its content, I opened it, rubbing my eyes as if it would get the sleepy out. In there was a name tag with my name printed on it, an earpiece, 2 pairs of designer belts, one black, on brown, Italian loafers, a Mac, a Patek Philippe Calatrava watch, and an iPhone with service on it. I jumped with joy. $80,000 watches? A laptop? And a free phone?! I already like getting up early. Under everything was a thin packet with the label: RULES, GUIDELINES, AND MANDATORY INFORMATION. I opened it up, not wanting to get fired on the first day for not knowing any of these.

1. All electronic equipment is for the specific use of any work regarding the Leon Tech Industries. Any further use of them is not permitted unless noted by Squall Leonhart. This includes all Macs, iPhones, iPads, compatible earpieces, voice recorders, etc.. Please speak to Squall Leonhart for permission to do things OTHER than the specific use of the work of the Leon Tech Industries. If worker fails to follow, immediate expulsion from the job is in check.

2. All workers are required to follow dress code(see below). Since we are the highest rated institute for electronics, it is our job to create a controlled atmosphere. If worker fails to follow, immediate expulsion from the job will be applied. So remember folks, you are not 2 Chainz - you cannot be different.

3. All workers are required to show up at exactly 8:00 AM. The Institute opens at 9:00, and we must review the focal points of the day before opening time. Repetitive tardiness will cause an immediate expulsion from the job, as it slows down progress.

4. As your position upgrades, so will everything else. Your Mac will be transitioned to an iPad, and your salary will increase. If your position is to decrease, so will everything else. We prefer to use the chain flow of things.

5. Workers work four days a week on a nine hour shift including breakfast and lunch break. You are not permitted to call in sick for more than a week per month. If an emergency was to happen, please consult or call Squall Leonhart for further instruction.

6. Workers are required to supply the happiest and best of services a worker can give to the consumers. If bad service is given, the worker will be punished. If continued, immediate expulsion from the job will be applied.

7. Bathroom breaks must be used sparingly. If a theme of long bathroom breaks becomes noticed, action will be taken.

8. Not all meetings are mandatory to be attended. To find out if a meeting needs to be attended to and who needs to go at what time, just check the daily agenda found in your iPhone supplied by the Leon Tech Industries. If more than three mandatory meetings are missed, immediate expulsion from the job will be applied.

9. Workers are not permitted to make any finalized decisions regarding business partners and/or consumers interested in investments. Please consult Squall Leonhart on any decision that seems to great a choice to make. If failed to follow, immediate expulsion from the job is in check.

10. All information given to workers is confidential and is not permitted to be shared to anyone else. Failure to obey this will result in immediate expulsion from the ob, as well as some charges.

11. 45 is the age limit to work at Leon Tech Industries. Retirement will be paid for.

12. If Squall Leonhart is not present or very busy, all authority subjects to the manager of the area you work in.

I started to skim over the rest. Sheesh, everywhere I looked, I saw "immediate expulsion." "Immediate expulsion" this, "immediate expulsion" that. It really becomes overwhelming. I noticed the last rule was in capital letters, so I guess it was important to read.

20. ALL WORKERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE AUTHORITY OF SQUALL LEONHART. THIS RULE OVERRULES ALL OTHER RULES. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS RULE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EXPULSION FROM THE JOB.

I rolled my eyes. So basically the boss comes first. Gotcha.

DRESS CODE

1. Hair must be out of the face and pulled back. Women must keep hair in a neat bun. Men must keep hair combed towards the back of their head. This rule does not apply to shaven heads. Nothing besides scrunchies, pins, and gel are to be worn on the head while at work.

2. Large earrings are not permitted. Excessive or distracting jewelry is not permitted. Excessive amount of body and ear piercings are allowed, but not permitted to be worn at work. If new piercing is created, and piercing is required to be worn 24/7, please consult Squall Leonhart for further instruction.

3. Tattoos must be hidden and out of sight at all times.

4. No foul odors are permitted from anyone. Sweat stains as well as others are not permitted as well. Light fragrances are excepted.

5. Heavy make-up is not permitted.

6. All fine lines must be eliminated ASAP in order to continue working at Leon Tech Industries. All workers past the age of 37 are permitted to be supplied free jars of anti-aging cream to prevent fine lines from forming.

7. Teeth must be clean at all times. Foul odors from the mouth is not permitted. Gum and breath mints is allowed.

8. It is the worker's responsibility to keep acne off the face. If acne is a problem, please fix it ASAP in order to continue working at Leon Tech Industries.

9. Negligence of your body is not permitted. Please exercise regularly and eat proper foods in right proportions at all times. Workers are required to have weigh-ins every six months. Weight must either match or fall ten pound below or under their Body Mass Index. If weight is too far from their BMI, actions will be taken.

10. Smile must look as genuine as possible at all times.

11. Undershirts, boxers, bra straps, or any lingerie of any sort are not to be visible at all times.

12. WOMEN: Any solid color dress shirt; black pencil skirt that must fall AT MOST four inches above the knee and AT MOST three inches below the knee; *shoes are supplied*; name tag pinned to right breast; shaved legs, armpits, and peach fuzz; ear piece on and clipped to ear at ALL times while working; *watch provided*, if belt is needed: *belt provided*; clothes cannot be ill-fitting(not too tight or too loose)

MEN: any solid color dress shirt; *shoes provided*; black slacks appropriate to leg height and size, pants to be worn AT WAIST - no sagging is permitted - if belt is needed - *belt provided*; name tag pinned to right breast; ear piece on and clipped to ear at ALL times while working; *watch provided*; clothes cannot be ill-fitting(not too tight or too loose)

DRESS CODE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ACCORDING TO SQUALL LEONHART.

*Remember, failure to comply with the dress code results in IMMEDIATE dismissal from the job.

I snorted. Such uptight people. Maybe one day I can help them pull the forks out of their asses.

I opened the iPhone box and read the instructions.

TO ACTIVATE PHONE 

Phone already supplied service. To activate it, simply turn it on and input your personal password: 5668. The phone will then apply automatic services supplied by the Leon Tech Industries. Remember, don't abuse it!

Alrighty then.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: OMG thanks for all the comforting reviews guys. You really made my day. And I don't want to force you to review and sound like a review hog(wink wink the person knows who I'm talking about). But if you really meant what you guys said, thanks a bunch. Makes me happy to keep writing. :')**

**ATTENTION! DO NOT SCROLL PAST THIS! PLEASE READ! **

**My Microsoft Office for some reason does NOT cooperate with FanFiction. Whenever I try to upload something, sometimes it would upload right, almost all the time it ends up uploading the same previous chapter I've already loaded. **

**So what I'm trying to say is, I don't really check to make sure if the chapters are the same or not because I got fed up with it after a while. Meaning, I won't know a chapter's repeating unless someone tells me. So if you ever see some chapters in my stories repeating, just let me know and I'll try to fix it ASAP. ;)**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Cloud

We pulled up in front of the Leon Tech Institute, the butterflies flying around in my stomach. My first day at my first job! Man, I hope I don't blow this one. I gulped and turned to Zack. "Uh... thanks for driving me to work today, Zack. If I'd known that my car was gonna break down like that..."

Zack shook his head and smiled. "It's chill, Cloud. Any day." There was a moment of silence, and I looked down at my hands nervously. "I can tell you're scared." I looked up. Zack had a comforting smile on his face. "You'll do fine, believe me."

I shakily smiled. "Thanks." We hugged and I got out of the car, adjusting my tie. I closed the car door. Zack waved one last goodbye and drove off, leaving me alone in this tech madness. I turned toward the building, walking forward. As soon as I stepped inside, it was freezing, as always.

I looked around and saw a bunch of workers sticking their card in a machine and beeping. I went ahead and stepped inline. Just follow the crowd. I guess this is where I'm suppose to clock in.

"Boss here, yet?" a woman asked.

"You kidding me? Boss is never here this early," another guy answered. That statement made me think a little. Is my boss somewhat of a hypocrite?

When my turn stepped up, I hesitantly stuck my card in. It beeped. I pulled out.

Haha... pulled out.

Sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.

As soon as I walked away, I noticed a tall, good-looking young man with brown hair flirting with a familiar-looking blue-haired lady. I gasped and smiled. Aqua! Finally, someone I knew around here. Without second thought, I walked over to her.

She giggled. "Oh you..."

The man grinned. "So will you?"

Aqua looked up at the ceiling, holding her coffee in one hand while tapping her chin with the other. After a couple seconds of thinking, she looked back at the man. "Why not."

The man jumped up with happiness. "Yes! So I'll... pick you up at eight-ish?"

Aqua nodded. "Eight-ish it is."

And with that, the man pointed at her, acknowledging their goodbye, and walked off to a couple of his other friends.

Aqua turned to me and rolled her eyes. "That's Terra. He's been going at me for a while now. Might as well give him a chance." She jerked her chin toward me. "So, what's up with you? What does it feel like, putting on that earpiece and clocking in for the first time?"

I laughed. "Didn't you do it before?"

"Yeah, but that was a while ago. I need you to refresh my memory." She winked. I already liked her.

I shrugged. "It's... okay, I guess. I gotta get used to the whole waking up at seven in the morning thing though."

She grinned. "That takes some time. Hey, you wanna go grab a coffee or something with me?"

I looked down at her current coffee. She waved her hand in dismissal. "One is never enough. I was up _all _night trying to file in the crash reports for our new spreadsheets next week. If I don't have at least three coffees and a Red Bull today, I'm gonna be a joke and drool all over boss's lap during the meeting today."

We both laughed, only mine was a bit shaky. All nighters? Spreadsheets? Three coffees? Maybe this wasn't the job for me.

I nodded. "Sure. I'll go with you."

Let me just be the one to say that the cafeteria is HUGE! It like a combination of three different food courts in one. And what amazes me more? Is how I just found out that the boss bought it. Along with the rest of the building. He's the one who finances everything. He must be friggin rich or something!

The coffee was amazing. Aqua told me everything there was to know. I may have read the rules, but that doesn't mean I know the hidden rules, like how you never wear all black to work, because boss tends to be meaner to the people who wear all black. I guess it's depressing or something.

Oh well. I don't really like depressing stuff either.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

Leon

"Well tell him I don't want it," I groaned, tired of these people following me. One of my managers raced after me, showing me the crash report.

"But sir, constant complaints have been coming in ever since our partnership with Apple! Don't you think we should-"

"Remove us from Apple."

"But sir-"

"Remove us from Apple," I said calmly.

He gulped. "Y-yes, sir." And all of them walked away, hurriedly trying to get my order done. I sighed and entered the elevator, closing the door and happy that I get a couple moments of alone time. The job was hectic. Nice money, but hectic, I'll tell you that. Should've became a doctor like mom always told me. Maybe it would of been easier than my job.

As soon as the elevator opened and I stepped out, more people raced towards me. I narrowed my eyes. "If this has anything to do with our crash reports then damn it, get out of my face!" I shouted. All of them stood there for a while. "LEAVE! I just came here! May I please get situated first?!"

All of them then rushed away to their original departments. All but one. Cloud Strife.

I regained my calmness and nodded to him once. "_Yes?_"

"Uh... Aqua told me to-"

"We don't refer to people here by first name, Cloud," I bluntly stated. If I call him by last name, people are going to suspect something. I call all my workers by first name to remind them that they're lower than me. As much as I'd like to give Cloud the respect he deserves, I can't just simply dismiss what the others will think.

Cloud flinched at my sudden words. "Well, uh... _Ms. Hiromi_ told me to talk to you about my earpiece? It's... it's not working, sir. I tried to get other people to fix it, but they said that you were the only one that really knew how to reprogram it so it gets all the correct signals. So here I am."

I blinked. Damn it. I wasn't paying attention to what he saying. I was too focused on his angelic face. How do I play this off? Oh wait. I'm the boss. I can act like I purposely didn't want to listen. I rolled my eyes. Some memory I have.

"Uh... sir?" Cloud asked me, noticing my eye movement.

I raised my eyebrows slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't, uh... catch, what you were saying..." I said monotonously, rolling my eyes again and taking a sip of my coffee. Cloud sighed and shook his head, nervously smiling.

"Um... never mind, sir. I'll tell you some other time when you're not as busy." And he walked away.

Damn it! I didn't actually intend for that to happen either. I groaned. Of course.

I knew I wasn't going to get to see him again for the rest of the day unless I had a meeting. This building is huge. There's many departments. No way I was going to catch him throughout the day. Not unless he came to me.

I turned my earpiece on and held up my iPhone, pressing Cloud's number in it. I started talking. "Cloud, I just realized, I won't be busy later on today. Why don't you just go ahead and meet me in my office a couple minutes before your shift is over? Alright, perfect."

All I heard was static.

Oh yes. His earpiece isn't working.

...

Why am I constantly making stupid moves over this worker? This stops now.

Oh wait! I have a meeting already scheduled. It all works out perfectly. Now all I have to do is rearrange seating so that Cloud sits next to me. Ah, I got it.

Or even better. I have a better idea.

* * *

Cloud

"And right here is where you work, Mr. Strife," Larxene told me. I widened my eyes. I knew I was going to be working in a cubicle, but... not this cubicle. This is the size of my apartment.

"This... this is my office?" I managed to sputter.

Larxene gave me a confused expression, and slowly nodded. "This is your office... just like everyone else..." she confirmed.

I dropped my briefcase and started to walk around in awe. You think they would let me sleep here? Nah. Doesn't mean I'll stop hoping though.

"And as I explained before, the list of everything you need to do is on your desk. Pinpoints on ways to efficiently adjust to your new job in quick time in order to allow for progression is available on the ePublications found in the iBooks app on your iPhone. A tutorial of how to do your work in the department you now associate with, Contracting and Output Business Transaction Tracking and Monitoring, is available on the hard drive found inside one of your drawers in your desk. Lunch begins at noon. A mandatory meeting will be held in a little less than an hour. If there are any further questions, please, do not hesitate to page me for further assistance. Although I insist, _please_ try to figure it out on your own." And she smiled saluted me sarcastically, and walked back to her front desk, taking the elevator down to do so.

Wow. Contracting and Output Business Transaction Tracking and Monitoring. I don't even know what that means. And damn does she talk fast! All I caught from her was that lunch starts at noon.

I looked over to my desk and found a Post It note on my computer screen. I walked over to it and squinted at the unnecessarily small handwriting.

DO NOT PUT PERSONAL ITEMS ON DESK. THEY WILL BE CONFISCATED AND DISPOSED. LEON TECH INDUSTRIES MUST ALWAYS LOOK AS PROFESSIONAL AS POSSIBLE.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. Great. I was just about to put some pictures of me and my best friend Zack all around my desk. I was even gonna add some Barbie stickers too.

I'm serious.

No, really.

I picked up the list of things I had to do and skimmed over the 12 point font. Sheesh! Upload desktop spreadsheets onto my laptop? Download all previous spreadsheets and load each one onto a separate hard drive to give to my department administrator? Create a focal graph that includes spreadsheets of income rates from before partnering with Apple and after?

Spreadsheets spreadsheets spreadsheets! What the hell are they anyway?!

A buzzer dinged in my office. I looked outside through my see through walls to see if anyone heard it. According to Larxene, to enhance security, all office walls are one-sided windows. Meaning, on the outside it's just a wall. On the inside it's a secret way to observe the outsides of your office.

No one heard it due to the lack of attention to my office.

The buzzer dinged again. "Mr. Strife?"

"Yea-"

"The boss would now like to see you regarding your earpiece. Please make your way over to his office." And the buzzer clicked off. They didn't even wait for me to answer. Why does this place always seem like they're in a run for time?

I muttered angry words to myself as I rode the elevator upwards. They throw a bunch of shit to do without even giving me the time of day and expect me to do it 100% accurately and on time according to Aqua?

"Fuck you," I mumbled to my coffee, directing it to Squall even though he wasn't here.

"The coffee fucks?" a man asked next to me.

I jolted and looked up(as I always have to since I'm short), seeing a good-looking man peering down at me with raised eyebrows. He was out of dress code, wearing khaki cargoes, a black baggy hoodie, and a pair of worn-out red ankle Converse. And his hair was spiky and red. He had tattoos of a teardrop under both of his eyes, which were a piercing emerald green, beautiful enough to make you break your neck to look at them again. This man was a ticking time bomb ready to explode in this place. How the fuck does he get away with walking around like that?

I know I'm short. But this man was really tall. And thin.

I blinked over and over, not being able to tear my eyes away from his gorgeous green ones. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was here with me."

He gave me a look, a look that was like one of those how-do-you-not-know-a-six-foot-something-with-red-hair-in-a-tight-small-space-is-not-next-to-you look. As he gave me this look, he took a sip from his Monster drink from a big, curly, red straw.

I nervously looked down and tapped the walls of the elevator, waiting for my stop. It was like it was taking forever. This man was strange. Really strange. And I don't want to be around strange people for more than a few minutes. Or seconds.

I slowly peeped over to the side of my eyes to take another glimpse at him. As strange as he was, he was really sexy. I wonder how many more tattoos he had under his hoodie.

I jerked my chin to him once. "How do you get away with wearing that?"

He blinked, not looking at me but rather straight ahead at the elevator doors. "How do I not?" He had a slightly noticeable Australian accent. Small enough that it can go unnoticed but large enough to give people the hint that he's an Aussie.

"Don't you work here?"

"Do I?" he asked.

"So you don't work here...?"

"Do you?" he asked.

"Of course. Can't you see?"

"Can't _you_ see?" he asked.

I groaned. "Do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Answer questions with questions?"

"Do you always ask pointless questions?"

I sighed heavily, already fed up with this red head. Not one answer I got out of him. Only a bunch of questions. In fact, he didn't say not one statement to me. Only questions. I turned to him. "Why are you here then?"

"Why are _you_ here?"

"Okay, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That!"

"What?"

"The questions!"

"Aren't _you_ asking _me_ questions?"

"...I said stop!"

"Don't you want to-"

"STOP!"

He looked back down at me and gave me another look, one of those you're-annoying-the-hell-out-of-me looks. He took another slurp of his drink from his strange straw.

Arriving at 40th floor, the elevator stated. Oh yes! Never have I been so happy.

We both stepped out of the elevator and started walking down the same hallway. I stopped and narrowed my eyes, eyeing him down. "So now you're following me?"

He didn't answer my question. In fact, he didn't even stop walking. When I lost sight of him, he shouted, "Am I?"

I slammed my fist into the wall in annoyance and anger mixed together. I think I've just found my pet peeve. Him. Him and continuous question-answers. I then widened my eyes and removed my fist from the wall, hoping no one in that office found it distracting.

Once I reached the boss's office, I quietly opened the door and peered in. "You needed me, sir?"

The boss was taking a sip of coffee. He pointed to the chair with his free hand and nodded, signaling me to come in. I entered, closing the door behind me. And unfortunately, the same redhead sat on a chair next to the window. He turned the rolling chair to me, a smug look on his face. Are you fucking kidding me?!

I slowly sat down, focusing my eye contact to Squall. "Uh... sir... I believe there's a-"

"Oh I know. He's my very annoying and sarcastic yet very intelligent and skilled tech savvy," Squall explained to me, giving the redhead a quick look.

In response to Squall's statement, the redhead simply just took another sip of his Monster while staring at me with his smug face.

I narrowed my eyes at him, Squall not seeing the tension between us. "Shouldn't he be in dress code then? Or at least look somewhat professional?"

Squall lightly smiled and shook his head. "He's not one to obey people very easily. He doesn't handle authority well. And quite frankly, I need him way more than he needs me. So I can't just fire him. He's not seen by public figures anyway. No one outside this workforce knows he handles all the major technological enhancements for the company. Besides, he's my little brother. He won't do what I say no matter what I do."

I widened my eyes. Little brother? But they looked nothing alike! Two clashing personalities and two different faces... I was genuinely confused. I peered over at the redhead. His smirk widened. Another sip of his Monster.

Squall titled his head to the side. "I know what you're thinking. We had two different fathers. He came late. He's only 23, you know. And the red hair? It's dye, relax. He's very fond of certain things. If it's red, he wants it. If its unusual and makes people stop and stare, he wants it."

That explains his whole look he's got going for him. And that weird-looking straw. Who uses a straw to drink a Monster from its can?

"Axel, why don't you say hello to my new worker?"

Axel was his name. This named Axel raised an eyebrow and swiveled his chair back to the window, his back facing me. "Hi," he bluntly stated after doing all that, only his slight Australian accent made "hi" come out sounding more like "hoi". Thanks, Axel. Very warm welcome indeed.

Squall sighed, rolling his eyes. "Excuse him. Axel's very... open to expressing how he feels about certain things... and people." He reached for his coffee.

"Careful, mate. Apparently the coffee is a _dangerous_ fucker to blondies," Axel sarcastically retorted, dragging the word dangerous and making his "careful" sound more like "kherful" from his accent. Cue slurp.

Squall stopped right in front of his mouth, making a confused face and glancing over at smug Axel. My face instantly went pink, even though Squall had no idea what he was talking about. He perfectly well knew I wasn't talking about the coffee. Why did he have to go and embarrass me like that?

"Axel, no dry humor while I'm trying to help one of my workers here."

"Dry humor? How could you possibly think I would use dry humor in such a professional place like this?! Just who do you take me for?!" Axel replied just as sarcastically.

"Can anything be more of a nuisance than you?"

"Pop music," he answered dryly. Slurp of the Monster. His personality was not a cheery one. I'm starting to get the hint that he looks at things with the glass not half empty, but all gone.

Squall ignored Axel's smartass comment and looked at me. "So your earpiece is not being productive, you say?"

"It's not working," I confirmed.

"Over here," Axel called, holding his hands up, ready to catch it. Squall threw it over and Axel groaned, pressing something at the side of it. "The dumbass forgot to activate it to the Bluetooth."

I blushed.

"He's not dumb, Axel. Now I'd appreciate it if you leave for a moment," the boss said through gritted teeth.

Axel smirked. "Moment or minutes? Be careful what you wish for."

"I don't know how they act over there, but it seems like Australians obviously handle your dry personality much better than us Americans," Leon mumbled, shaking his head as Axel walked towards the door. "And buy some new shoes!" I knew it. He was Australian.

"Your mum," he dryly replied, and closed the door, finally leaving the room. Sure enough, he left the empty can of Monster on the floor, being sure not to accidentally leave his lovely red curly straw.

Squall turned to me, contemplating my face like he did on my job interview. This made me self-cautious. Did I have a coffee mustache or something? I nonchalantly brushed my upper lip with my thumb, wiping away any possible coffee marks.

Squall smirked very lightly, almost unnoticable. "Did you have a good sleep last night?"

"What?" I asked accidentaly. I quickly widened my eyes. that came out a bit rude, don't you think Cloud? He IS your boss.

"Seems like you were out late last night."

Oh shit. He remembers. The Sephiroth thing! Not good! What do I say? I can't just tell him about my love life! This isn't the place! But if I lie he won't trust me! Oh... but then I'll look like a slut. I'm not a slut. I just really love... or think I love... this guy!

"Yeah..." I confirmed.

"Where exactly, if you mind?"

I do mind.

"Uh... a bar," I mumbled shakily.

"A bar... interesting," he mumbled with doubt in his voice. "Was that all you did?"

"No..."

"...met any special people of yours?" He took a sip of his coffee.

"Just some friends," I replied quietly.

He stopped and looked at me. Really looked at me. Like he was finalizing his impression of me. I became scared. What if that impression was turning bad? He thinks I'm a liar! Alright, I'll set things straight.

"Well, I saw an old ex of mine too."

He blinked and widened his eyes. "Really?"

"It was Sephiroth. He was telling me how he was sorry and how he missed me... and that he needs me..." I couldn't help but smile at the memory.

Squall sighed. "At a gay stripper joint, right? You were the two making out in the corner next to the bathrooms?"

I widened my eyes. I was him. "Yeah. I mean yes!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You gaze at you."

I nodded.

"He would make you uneasy by breaking the personal space barrier, giving you butterflies in your stomach," Squall mumbled, standing up and walking over to me. I stood up, nervous, and started to back up toward a wall. He stood close to my face, our lips kissing distance. My face grew red.

"Just like this," Squall whispered.

"Yeah..." I mumbled weakly, the butterflies most definitely fluttering around in my stomach. Without second thought, Squall leaned over and kissed me. It was a gently kiss, yet I could feel the lust in it. Before we knew, we found ourselves pressing against each other, the kiss sinking deeper. I moaned and broke apart, trying to hold back from going too far.

Squall just blinked, his eyes wide with surprise at what he just did. I looked down nervously. "Uh... sir..."

He cleared his throat and quietly backed away, applying the correct amount of space that should be between a boss and a worker again.

**Leon ****  
**

Something suddenly came over me. A feeling of lust, of want, of need. It wouldn't leave me at all. I felt a tightness in my lower body. I clenched my teeth as I stared at Cloud's red face, looking down at the ground. He was so beautiful. All I wanted to do was be inside him. I couldn't hold it much more.

Quickly, I pressed myself against him on the wall. Cloud widened his eyes and lost his breath, staring at me in shock and surprise. "Sir!? What're you-"

I leaned close to him but only grazed my lips on his, continuing downward and hovering over his neck. I could feel his heart beating quicker. His body arched towards mine. "Sir... what're you doing?" he softly moaned.

"I'm your boss, correct?" I asked him, keeping my eyes closed and hovering over his lips again, looking down at him with intent eyes. He searched mine, trying to find my motive for what I was doing.

For now, it was pure lust.

"Y-yes, sir..." he answered.

"Then do as I say," I stated. I pushed on his head toward the ground, and Cloud's knees eventually bent in agreement. He looked up at me, confused. I pulled my zipper down and dropped my pants and briefs to the floor. Cloud widened his eyes.

"It's so..."

I smirked. "Suck. _Now_."

Cloud gasped and looked up at me. "But... I never..."

"You will now. _Suck_."

Cloud's face went pink and he shook his head. "I can't. I'm not really-"

"That's an _order_." And I grabbed his head, inserting my dick into his mouth. I pumped back and forth, intently watching his every reaction to it. I felt it coming. It was so close. I sped up, moaning and leaning my head far back. I haven't felt like this for so long. No one's done this to me before. Made me feel this way. This quickly.

Without hesitation, I came in his mouth, gasping and jerking my dick into his mouth, forcing him to swallow. I pulled away, some of it dripping onto the carpet. Cloud breathed heavily, wiping his mouth with wide eyes and looking up at me, his expression unreadable.

I grabbed him upward and gazed into his eyes. "I want you," I whispered, and I smacked my lips against him. Cloud moaned, pulling himself tighter against me. My hands trailed down to his pants. But before I could do anything, he gasped and pushed me away. I stared at him, just now realizing what I just did.

Cloud's face grew to the color of Axel's hair and he bit his lip. That expression was incredibly sexy. It made him look so innocent. So vulnerable. His bright blue eyes took one last look at me, and then he quickly walked out the room.

"Goodbye sir," he called before the door shut, leaving no comment to the whole experience. I sighed. Hopefully he doesn't have a big mouth.

* * *

**Cloud/Leon Thoughts**

Cloud

I couldn't concentrate at the meeting at all. All I could think about was Squall. What he'd done to me. He took away my mouth virginity forcefully, and yet... it felt so good. I wanted more. I just felt like jumping up and throwing myself onto him. His dick was probably the largest I've seen... seeing as how I've only seen two in my life, excluding him.

I looked over at him. Sure enough Squall was staring at me. I quickly broke it and looked down. That's wrong. That's having an unfair advantage. I can't screw around with my boss and get the benefits when I have people like Aqua fighting to get a raise! I can't. I won't.

But I want to.

Leon

His lips were so voluminous and soft and kissable and... let me stop. I couldn't stop thinking about the feel of them against mine, against my dick. The sounds he made when he liked it, the way his eyes would gaze at me. He even smelled amazing. I just wanted to press myself against him and kiss him all day, maybe even make love.

Is it love yet, Leon? Because it could just be lust. You don't even really know the man yet.

Maybe it's love at first sight, because I couldn't get him out of my mind.

Cloud

Maybe if I did it outside of work... no that's wrong too. God he was so handsome. Just looking at him makes me horny. Oh my goodness stop it Cloud! Do you hear yourself? But why did I stop him? Now I regret it. I want more. What would've happened if I stayed in his office? Would we take it to the next level? Would we even be at this boring meeting?

"I want you..."

I bit my lip and closed my eyes at the fresh memory in my head. That kiss... it was even better than Sephiroth's.

Leon

There he goes with those lips again. Ah fuck... will I ever be able to kiss them again? The moans he made... I just wanted to hear them again. I peeked down at my balls, which were horny again. I looked around, checking to see if anyone was noticing it. Everyone's eyes were on the woman talking.

Except mine.

And that's when it dawned on me.

I am his boss. Anything I say he has to do in order to keep his job. What if I use that to my advantage?

No. No, it's wrong. How can you force someone to screw you? It's not the same feeling. I won't do it. I refuse. Erase my dirty ways!

I peeked over across the extremely long table and watched a worker of mine slowly check out Cloud, eyebrows raised, mouth curved to a smirk, and eyes glistening with lust. Oh hell no.

"Mr. Rina," I called out, stopping everyone including the woman presenting and causing them to look at me. I raised an eyebrow. "You're not paying attention. That's stopping beneficial progress, you do know that, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," he replied firmly, although a drop of sweat fell down his forehead nervously. Somehow it made me more angry.

"You're fired. Goodbye."

He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "Y-yes, sir." And he got up and stepped out the room to get his stuff from his office so he can make his way out of here. No one tried to give me eye contact, to try and defy my decision I just made. No one except Cloud, of course. Does he not know the penalty for testifying my choices with a burning stare at me? I don't like staring.

I disregarded Cloud's eyes, which made him huff and intently stare down at the table in front of him. Don't worry, Cloud. I was simply protecting you from future problems, like rape for example.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

**Cloud**

"He's just so _aggravating_! I don't think I can stand him much longer!" I yelled into the phone, frustration filling my head. I could hear Zack's calming laughter. I groaned and put my hand on my forehead in annoyance. "Zack... he fired the man for simply dazing off a little. He can't help it! He's human! Hell, I probably dazed off a hell-of-a-lot more than him."

"Just put up with it, Cloud. Remember the benefits from all of this."

"I know, I know," I mumbled. I heard a crowd of people scream and chant.

Zack gasped. "Oh! Gotta go, Cloud. Break's over. Just... just take it easy, okay? Don't be afraid to stop by if you need talking to." And he hung up. I sighed, still sitting there with the phone in my ear for a couple of seconds, and then finally hanging up. I swear he had it so easy.

My doorbell rang. Grudgingly, I threw on a very over-sized jersey over myself since I was literally in nothing but my socks on. I walked over to the door and opened it, only to see two very well built chests begging for air in tight t-shirts. I looked up to see a familiar face and a totally brand new one. Sephiroth smiled. "Hey babe."

"Babe?" I asked, but he simply kissed my cheek and entered with the other guy. "Who's this?" I asked, looking over to another tall man that was blonde like me.

"I brought a friend over. His name's Seifer. He's always wanted to meet you."

Seifer looked me up and down and smirked, winking. I looked away, rubbing the middle of my left arm with my right hand.

"Uhhhh... what are you doing here, Sephiroth? I have work tomorrow and all... gotta get up early."

Sephiroth grinned and turned to me. "But I miss you, babe. Can't you show me how much you love me?"

I blinked repeatedly, confused. "What? And stop calling me babe! _You_ were the one that broke up with me, remember?"

"I know, and I deeply regret that... babe." He grinned even more, walking closer to me. "Does it get you flustered?" he said in a more husky voice.

"N-no..." I mumbled, my cheeks tinging red.

"You're a bad liar, Cloud," he whispered. I gulped and swerved away from him. Zack warned me that Sephiroth wasn't a guy to give another chance to, no matter how horny I get around him.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Are you even wearing anything under there?" Seifer asked, his eyebrow matching the arch of his lips. My entire face looked like an irritated pimple - red and abused.

"Of course I am!" I spat, trying my best not to look guilty.

"It's like he expected our arrival," Sephiroth teased. Without question, he grabbed my legs and hoisted them both around his waist. I gasped, trying to push myself off, but he simply tightened his grasp on me and dry humped me over and over. Slowly, I could feel his boner coming on.

He stopped and held me. "You're not wearing anything under." It was statement that was phrased like a challenge. I bit the side of my bottom lip and tugged hard. Sephiroth was turned on by me. By me.

You see, I don't have anything sexy going on for me like Zack or Sephiroth or even Seifer here. I'm short. I'm thin. No muscles. My hair is uncontrollable. I tend to be really quiet and shy. I'm not a "freaky" person who can get down - I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. I've been mistaken as a girl on numerous occasions. I have girly features - long eyelashes, pink full lips, pale skin, frail figure... makes me wonder God accidentally placed a penis down there. I mean, that's small too.

And yet, I manage to turn this guy on. It's crazy, I tell you. Crazy.

"Seifer, look under and let me know if he's wearing anything," Sephiroth ordered, still keeping eye contact with me and smirking. I widened my eyes and attempted to close my legs, but of course I couldn't. They're around his waist.

"You can't just barge into my apartment and expect me to comply with all of this! This is cray cray!"

Sure enough, Seifer peaked under and smirked as well, shaking his head. "I don't see nothing."

Sephiroth pulled me closer to him. He looked up at my flustered face. "Surely we'll have to punish him, won't we, Seifer."

"Oh yes. I agree."

"Wait, what?!" I cried. Sephiroth walked over to a couch and threw me on it. I gasped, crawling away, but he grabbed me back. He smiled and kissed me, his tongue seeping in right away. He moaned in pleasure, and started to tug at my jersey. I pulled away and held on tight. "What are you doing?"

"You don't love me anymore, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, disappointment becoming clear in his voice. He peered down at me with sorrowful eyes and a slight pout. I looked around, everywhere but his face and bit my lip again. Of course I love him. But this was just so quick... and I haven't been opened up in so long... and I think was turning into a threesome...

"Of course I do... but..."

"Perfect." And he rolled me over onto my stomach, and ripped my jersey off, exposing my tiny ass that I am still to this day ashamed to claim my own. Sephiroth grinned and started to remove his pants. "Come on, Seifer. Help me show my affection."

Sure enough, a new object found its way to my face and stared back at me. Seifer held my head and started to push it forward. I shook my head. "No...!"

Sephiroth stuck it inside me, and instantly I screamed. That got Seifer horny, and he immediately jabbed his dick in my mouth without permission, thrusting his hips back and forth into my mouth. I winced. They were both... way too big for my tight self to handle. Don't they remember I'm a petite person and so is everything else on me?!

Sephiroth slapped my ass. "So tight... _fuck_." He moaned and grunted, thrusting it harder and faster each time.

Pre-cum entered my mouth, and Seifer removed his dick from it. I spat it out, the thickness alarming me. Sephiroth licked it off my lips, and pulled away. Seifer turned me over onto my back, and grinned at Sephiroth, who obediently removed himself from my ass.

"My turn," Seifer mumbled, and he thrust his gigantic penis inside me. I screamed even louder. Sephiroth's dick silenced me. My back arched in unwanted pleasure. As much as I hated to say it, I liked it all.

After minutes of this ongoing process, Seifer finally cummed inside me, jerking in pure pleasure and gasping when it came out. He pulled out when he was finished and examined his work. Sephiroth did the same in my mouth. He bent down and kissed me, sucking some of it out of me, tasting himself. He smiled and wiped his mouth, leaning back with his legs open.

I lay there, breathing hard, trying to take in what just happened. Another kiss from Seifer. And reverse. Over and over. I was like their sex toy that they couldn't get over. Seifer stuck a finger inside my hole and stuck it in my mouth, forcing me to taste his leftovers of him in me.

"Oh please... stop," I mumbled, clutching my sore legs from the extraneous force applied to my virgin-like hole. They both laughed and zipped on their pants again.

"We're done here, anyway," Sephiroth stated, throwing me my jersey. "See you later, Cloud."

"That's it? You're just up and leaving like that?" I asked. They both shrugged and exited the place, closing the door behind them. The sounds of them stepping down the stairwell affirmed it. I shook my head, angry with the world, and just fell asleep right there on the couch, full of cum and everything.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the long period of in-activeness. There has been slight inconveniences l had to attend to. Welp, at least I'm back! :P**

**And the plot finally kicks in by the end of this chapter, but I recommend you don't skip down to the end, because nothing here is filler. It all applies to the story later on, and you probably won't understand. However, do as you wish. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud **

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-

I smashed the off button and roughly got out of bed quickly, inadvertently tossing my sheets toward my pillow, calling it "fixing the bed." Don't ask me how I made it to my bed last night, because I don't know either. All I know is Sephiroth is bad news. And that he's manipulative as well. And I liked it.

Strict avoidance of this man is necessary.

I opened the fridge and searched for anything edible. All I saw was an apple and some leftover Chinese food from last night. Improvise, Cloud. Improvise.

Coffee was still frothing in the coffee maker when my cell rang on the couch. I winced and slowly looked over at the area, still dry of last night's adventures. I walked over and picked up my phone. "Hello?"

"You have time to meet me after work?" Zack asked. I could practically hear the smile in his voice. I grinned.

"I'll always have time," I answered, equally as happy. I wiped my eyes, trying to rid the sleepiness out of me. Zack laughed.

"I'll let you go now. Good luck today!"

I sighed. "Thanks. I'll always need it." And I hung up. I wonder what he's up to now.

I parked into a parking stop with the label, "worker" and turned off the car, stepping out. I heard sounds of rolling wheels against the pavement and loud guitar riffs.I turned and saw Axel arriving to the building in his regular attire of hoodie, cargoes, and some Converse, earphones blasting metal music into his ears. He stopped, gave me an annoyed look, and pulled out an earphone. "What?" he asked.

I pursed my lips. "I can hear your music."

"Yea?" he asked, starting to roll forward on his skateboard and into the building. "So can I."

I groaned, shook my head, and continued forward toward my job. Just deal with it, Cloud. A few more months of his pessimistic attitude and you'll get that roomy loft you've been dreaming of.

Punched in. Drank my coffee. Sighed and closed my eyes, trying to catch up my hours of lost sleep with the few minutes of breathing time I had here.

"HEY SLEEPY HEAD."

I gasped and spilled my coffee everywhere, looking around quickly. Aqua laughed as I scrambled to look for something to clean it up.

"Relax, the janitors got it." And sure enough, the janitors were rushing to clean it up.

I groaned and glared at Aqua. "Never. Again."

She grinned and poked my shoulder, our height about the same. "How about one more time? Maybe tomorrow?" I rolled my eyes.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

My eyes started to drift downward in front of the computer screen, my fingers slipping on the keyboard and accidentally imputing the wrong information. My door slammed open, my manager rushing in and banging on my desk. I gasped and woke up with a start.

"Mr. Strife! No sleeping on the job," the manager reminded.

I sighed. "Right..." I mumbled.

"No backlash either! Did you get those spreadsheets done yet?"

"Those what?" I asked, my eyes feeling heavy and my brain computing stuff ten times slower than I usually do.

The manager slowly leaned toward my ear and yelled, "THE SPREADSHEETS. ARE THEY COMPLETE YET?"

I grasped my ear and leaned away from him. "Listen, I'm new here, and I'm just beginning to grasp the whole spreadsheet thing. I've also just woken up, so please don't yell at me this early in the morning."

The manager's face started to boil red. "I'm sorry? You do as you're told to do! And now!"

"Who pushed you off the wrong side of the bed this morning, huh? Your mom or something?"

...

"Cloud, you perfectly well know that's a major rule here. You must give your utmost respect to the people who have authority over you," the boss scolded. I sighed and looked down.

"Yeah? Well I don't remember a rule being scream at my fac"e at 9:30 in the morning."

Squall raised an eyebrow. "You're being awfully pissy this morning. Not enough... sleep?"

I widened my eyes. Don't tell me he knows about last night, too. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Nah, I'm just... you know... adjusting to the new schedule and all. Kinda like jet lag, you know?"

Squall sighed. "Don't think you can just get away with this."

I blinked. "What did I do again?"

Squall raised an eyebrow again.

* * *

"Okay, quit it Zack, where are you taking me? What are you doing? Is this going to painful?! Zack?!" I exclaimed, waving my arms around everywhere to see if any hard surface was in front of me. Zack had blindfolded me and refused to tell me our whereabouts.

Zack laughed. "Oh shut up and just cooperate." We stopped and he steadied my shoulders to a certain direction. "Okay. Promise not to scream."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No. Well, it can be, but not if you use it safely."

"Zack..."

"Just promise!"

"I promise," I sighed. And he removed the blindfold and ran in front of what was in front of me, holding his arms out.

"Tada!"

I screamed.

He groaned. "You promised!"

"You never told me you got me a brand new sports car!" I screamed again.

He grinned. "It's a congratulations for landing your job. I'm really happy for you."

I shook my head. "Zack, I can't except this. I..."

"Cloud," he said, walking toward me. "Just please. Take it."

"You spent your life savings on this, didn't you? No. I can't."

"Cloud. Please. I want you to have it."

I smiled and hugged Zack. "You're amazing." Once we broke, I went to check out the car. It was a black Chevy Camaro with a full gas tank, complete with gold rims shaped liked stars and that pristine fresh car scent. I looked at Zack. "Let's take it for a spin."

"I thought you'd never ask," Zack replied.

The car had amazing drifts and sharp turns. It's speed could take you without even realizing it, and its stops always eased into a brisk one. The sound of the engine revving and the good quality of the music it played just took my breath away.

"Zack, I don't how I can ever repay you-"

"Just be happy again. Stop stressing out. That's how you repay me. You got this, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Now I do."

Out of nowhere, I saw Axel walking down the street, his hoodie gone and instead a red and black flannel, faded jeans, and black Vans. No surprise how his earphones were in, or how he had his skateboard in his right arm.

I widened my eyes. "I swear that guy's everywhere."

Zack raised his eyebrows. "He's kinda cute."

I looked over at him with a shocked expression. "He's the most pessimistic, pissy, most obnoxious Aussie you'll meet in your life."

"Aren't all Aussie's like that when they come to America?" Zack joked. I groaned. He jerked his chin to him. "We should say hi."

"No. We should go home and watch movies like the good folk do."

But before I could say something, Zack stepped out of the car and started to approach Axel. I sighed and pulled into a nearby parking lot, running after him. As soon as Axel saw me approaching, his face contorted to annoyance. When he saw Zack approaching, his face started to ease, and actually turned a bit pink.

"Zack!" I called. Once I reached the both of them, I held my hand out to Zack, breathing heavily. "Don't you _ever_ fucking do that again!"

"Hi," Zack said to Axel, totally ignoring me.

Axel looked around in confusion, and then back at him. "Hi..." he replied, once again his "hi" sounding more like "hoi."

Zack raised his eyebrows and smiled. "You an Aussie?"

Axel just stared, and then looked down at me. But he didn't answer.

"Axel here isn't exactly friendly. In fact, he's a bit of a 24/7 PMSing loner," I retorted. Axel gave me a look, his nose doing that little cringing that it always does when he has that face.

"I like Australian loners. I think they're kinda cool." Zack winked.

Axel's face lightened again and turned pink. "What... what do you guys want? Leon's not here anywhere."

"Leon?" we both asked.

"It's... it's what I call Squall. He's not here, okay? So you can tell whatever press that's hiding around here somewhere that it's just me." Axel looked down, his face for once not carrying a cocky face.

For a split second I felt a drop of pity for him, wondering how it felt like to be the measly brother of a millionaire. My impression of his cockiness and total bluntness started to change. Maybe he has a reason he acts like that all the time.

"We're here for only you, trust me," I said with a smile. Axel gave me a doubtful look.

"So your name's Axel? Neat name. Mine's Zack."

Axel just blinked.

"Well! We have to be on our way now, so nice talking to you again!" I exclaimed, quickly grabbing Zack and pulling him back toward my new car.

"Nice to meet you Axel!" Zack called out.

Axel slowly nodded. "Yeah..."

* * *

The next day of work was even worse than the second day. The Apple industry was here to talk with the boos, and there was a big commotion going on. Managers that weren't even in charge of me asked for so much from me.

Bump that.

An Apple person walked inside my room, looking around and then looking at me. I slowly turned away from my computer and took off my glasses, looking at him. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if you're supposed to be in here, sir."

The person lightly smiled and put a hand up. "Relax. I come here in peace." He walked over to me and examined the condiments laying around my desk, and then the computer. He narrowed his eyes. "So you do spreadsheets?"

"Uhh..." Am I allowed to be answering these questions? Am I even allowed to let him be in here?

"Are you new here?" he asked. Somehow he was able to make that assumption. Is that a good or a bad thing? Oh shit.

"Uhh... yes...sir. But I really think you should go now-"

"CLOUD!" Squall shouted as he slammed the door open, his coffee dripping from his Dunkin Donuts foam cup. He widened his eyes, then narrowed them. "What are you doing in here? This is trespassing into our private sanctions."

"He let me in," the person said, pointing to me. I gasped and shook my head.

"I'm going to sue for this," Squall warned to the man.

"Well I'm going to report this to the press. People need to know that our partnership was failing because you had your _new_ and _entirely confused_ lackey make spreadsheets of our transactions!"

"Lackey?! Whoa wait a second-" I started.

"if you report, I'll be sure to make my suing far worse," the boss threatened, narrowing his eyes even more.

"Well at least I'll have the public on my side once they know that your business is ran on juvenile-"

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP," I shouted. Both of them widened their eyes and stared at me. I pointed to Squall. "You need to calm your nuts down." I pointed to the mysterious man who decided to make shitty assumptions. "And you! Just who the fuck do you think you are for coming in here and making a mess like this? And you dare call me a lackey?! Fuck you! What's your problem? Someone ripped off your left nut?! I am just as well capable of doing anything the people here can do. So the fuck with your shitty accusations and stop SCREAMING IN MY OFFICE!"

Both of them gulped. The Apple person gritted his teeth, gave Squall a look, and turned around and left. Squall turned to me and gave me an appalling look. I had no clue if it was good or bad, but I most definitely knew this would not be the end of this.

Shit. It's okay Cloud. Think of good thoughts. Rainbows and fucking dick-flowers. Yeah. Okay.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

I stood in front of the boss's door, my hand on the doorknob. A sweat dropped from my forehead. "Good thoughts, Cloud," I reminded myself. "Rainbows and dick-flowers. Rainbows and dick-flowers." And I turned the knob, slowly walking in. The door shut behind me.

"You called me in, sir?" I asked, trying to be as respectful as possible. Chances were I was going to be in serious trouble since I've snapped on a CEO or something of Apple. I'm just truly not use to the whole business-clash thing. But according to Aqua, it happens all the time. With other companies too, but mostly with Apple.

Squall kept his gaze on the cold, unforgiving surface of his desk, with my file laying on it, and a red stamper next to it. I gulped. I watched enough business movies to know that those two together usually don't mean well.

"Let's review your predicaments you've had this week, shall we?" he said calmly, something I learned was a bad thing. That was his "firing" voice according to Aqua.

I gulped and bit down on my jaw extremely hard.

He clasped his hands together and sighed. "Let's see.. well you've never turned in a spreadsheet to me on time, you made it to a mandatory meeting very late, you disregarded your manager's authority over you, you slept on the job, and you screamed at a business partner of ours, which chances are, will go around and make a bad name for not only the company, but for yourself as well."

I looked down, attempting to blink the tears away. The one good job I land manages to leave my grasp. Of course. How am I going to afford to fill up my new car with gas now?

His eyes finally looked up to mine. "However, I've contacted him, and he agrees to not release any information about the incident as long as we don't release the crash reports Apple had."

I looked up. "Is... it that a good thing?"

"Yes... but I can't keep having you pull stunts like this and wreck my company's progress."

I took a shakily deep breath, ready to take on whatever I was about to hear. "So... what's the punishment?"

He gazed at me for a couple moments, and I didn't break it. Instead I gazed back at his, trying to see his motive, his inner thoughts, what he was planning to do with me, how he truly felt about me. My eyes couldn't help but trail down to his lips, those firm lips that were capable of so much...

"I'm not going to fire you." And he removed my file from the desk and slipped it into a drawer. I widened my eyes. "Instead, I have an idea. A compromise, per say."

"Which is...?" I asked, starting to feel confused. Should I be scared of this compromise? Would I demoted to janitor or something? Aw shit. Just strip my clothes off and fire me now. Better yet strip _your_ clothes off and fire me now.

"I understand how you absolutely not grasping the idea of spreadsheets at all, and that's quite understanding, considering how you came from waiting tables to reporting transactions."

I blinked. Where's he going with this?

"I really don't want to lose you as a employee, so here's the deal. I have someone special do your spreadsheets for you, in return of one thing."

"Which is...?" I asked again.

The edges of his lips slowly broke out into a sly smile. "You do whatever I say."

"Huh?"

"Every working day, from after lunch break to 3:30 PM, you have to fulfill everything I desire of you to do, specifically regarding sexual demands."

I gasped and widened my eyes. "I'm sorry, did you just say _sexual_ demands?!"

"I did, indeed. And I'm not kidding you with this. In return all of your spreadsheets and file reports will always be completed for you to hand in to me, you'll continuously be promoted for your 'good work', and your paychecks will increase. And all you have to do is follow my every command."

I gulped. This sounded somewhat easy, but way too dangerous. "What if someone finds out? Then what happens?"

"That'll be a disaster. But no one will find out unless you tell them."

1:00 to 3:30 with this man, doing nasty things with him. A whole hour and thirty minutes with him. And I get a bigger paycheck and a chance to relax at work. This sounded like a horrible thing to do. People like Aqua have to work their ass off just to get promoted and all I have to do is bend over when asked. And yet... the idea kinda stuck with me. I could probably get use to it. I may not like it, and if Sephiroth finds out I don't know what I'll do, but the thought of being a sexual slave kinda stuck with me as well.

"I'll...I'll have to think about it. This compromise... it's something that can't be decided in two minutes," I answered.

He nodded. "Understandable. You have tonight as well as your day off tomorrow to think about it. I expect to hear your answer by the time you come back on Friday."

"And if I say no?" I asked, curious to know about my options.

"Very simple: you'll be fired."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded. Squall's eyes trailed down to my lips and raised his eyebrows. "Is that a habit of yours, Cloud?" I blinked, trying to comprehend what he was saying. As soon as it clicked I gasped and stopped biting it.

"Oh, uh... it kinda developed when I was a child."

"You do it when your nervous?" he asked.

"Anything really. Nervous, happy...aroused..." I mumbled, partially hoping he didn't hear the last part. But I'm sure he did, considering how his smile spread into this sexy grin, and my cheeks couldn't help but go pink. I basically asked for that.

"You're already very attractive, Cloud. To a lot of people, I've found out. And that lip biting thing only makes you more irresistible. I recommend you _don't_ do that anymore if you're not looking to get raped."

My face turned a deep shade of red. "Attractive? Irresistible? Rape?!" I mumbled.

He laughed this sexy deep laugh of his, and stood up from his seat. "Work hours are done, and I believe it's time for you to go home now."

"And you?" I asked.

"Well considering how I'm the boss of this place, I usually don't get to home until a couple hours after everyone left."

Instant pity took over. "Oh."

"It's fine, Cloud. Go, punch out. You don't get overtime for this."

I nodded, and started to walk towards the door. I turned back to him, noticing that he already took his place in front of the window that gave a perfect view of the city. I sighed and slowly shut the door behind him.

This was such a strange day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Cloud **

I continued to sit there, my legs crisscrossed, typing on my Mac the last spreadsheet before I could go to bed. I sighed, removed my glasses, and rubbed my eyes. This late-night work was really getting to me. I was insanely sleep-deprived, and I don't think that's good for my goal of getting taller.

"You sound sleepy," Sephiroth said to me on the phone that was on speaker.

"That's because your not doing a very good job of keeping me awake," I replied, slipping my glasses back on.

"Maybe you should just quit that job, you know? It seems too much for you to handle. Just come and move in with me... I can supply your needs-"

"I _refuse_ to be dependent on you again. Besides, we're not even dating," I snapped. And be a weak little boyfriend-bitch? Hell no.

"Damn, Cloud. It was just an offer. And I thought we were dating ever since... you know."

"No. You barged in and basically raped me."

"It's not rape when you enjoyed it! You cried out for more in your head!"

"Sephiroth, I know for a fact that I did not-"

"_Just shut up!_" he shouted. I stopped what I was doing and stared at the phone, contemplating if I should hang up on him. Was he always such an asshole like this? Why am I just letting him talk to me like this? I never gave him consent to bring his friend and screw me over on my couch, the one that I didn't even clean up yet.

I could hear him sigh. "Look, it's late. I don't know about you, but I don't have to stay up late and do _spread-shit_. Later." And he hung up.

I groaned and hung up. You know what? Fuck it. I'll finish this tomorrow.

Or maybe I really should take Squall's offer into thought. Or should I say, "Leon" according to Axel. The thought of not staying up late to complete this bull and actually get my full eight-hour sleep slightly made me giddy.

I'll sleep on it.

* * *

"Attractive?" Zack asked, the grin not wiping away from his face for the past two minutes.

"Yeah. He said I was very attractive. And when I bite my lip I might get raped because I'm just that irresistible."

"_Very_ attractive, huh? I don't blame him. That little biting habit of yours _is_ kinda cute," Zack teased, poking me in the side. I blushed and lightly pushed him away. "So you gonna take up his offer?"

"I'm not sure. I don't really think it's the right thing to do and all, will Sephiroth and everything."

Zack sighed. "Listen, about Sephiroth-"

"Well hello everyone! Such a coincidence to meet you all here, isn't it?" Sephiroth said, grabbing my waist and pulling me close. He kissed my cheek. "Sorry about last night, babe. Wasn't feeling myself."

I blinked and looked down. "Uh... sure."

Zack groaned and crossed his arms. "Such a coincidence, huh."

"Be nice, Zack..." I muttered to him.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow and rudely pointing to Zack.

Zack narrowed his eyes. "Spiky's friend? _Since 5th grade? _Versus you meeting him when he was _halfway done with college?_"

"Spiky? His name's Cloud."

I lowered Sephiroth's finger. "It's fine, Seph. Zack is my best friend. He always calls me Spiky."

"It's like he's ridiculing your hair."

"It's _fine_."

"So I suppose I can call you Spiky as well?" Sephiroth asked.

"Well, actually, really only Zack-"

"It's a special nickname only I can call him. Sorry," Zack stated bluntly.

Sephiroth huffed and immediately let me go. "Alright, fine. I'm gone." And he walked away.

I turned to Zack. "Way to be nice, Zack."

"He was being a rude bitch! A common person would've went off too."

"Yeah, okay. Do I look like a common person? Or do I look like a blondie with spiky hair who deals with first world problems on a daily basis? Obviously it's the first on," I said sarcastically I turned around and stopped right away, noticing my boss sitting at a table across from a blonde man in front of a coffee shop. Only the blonde was the same man that waltzed into my office at work and made harsh accusations. The Apple guy.

I gulped. What were they talking about? Me? Is he changing his mind? Man, I should've accepted the deal that day!

"You okay?" Zack asked. I shook my head.

"Wait here, I'll be a second," I rushed, and I looked both ways before crossing the street illegally towards my boss and the rude Apple guy.

Squall saw me coming, and gave me a strange look. When I finally approached them, Squall raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

I had to say I wasn't exactly use to seeing Leon in casual clothes. Especially clothes that were snug-fitting and showed off some really sexy biceps. Sheesh, who would've known he had those babies under those suits he always wears. Made we wonder what was under the clothes...

"I saw you from a distance, and I couldn't help but come over and talk to you, especially after I noticed that you were with..." I glanced over to the Apple guy, who had now looked down at his coffee and started spinning his straw in it. The man was handsome, and professional looking, even in casual clothes. But there was a hateful essence to him.

"Oh. Well Cloud, allow me to introduce you to my ex, Rufus Apple. Rufus, this is Cloud, my employee."

Rufus looked up at me and gave me that oh-trust-me-I-never-forgot-about-you look and nodded. "Nice to meet you." I just now noticed how his voice was very smooth-sounding and controlled. It had a tad bit of a British accent in it. And his eyes were an incredible blue. They were so clear and pristine, kind of like his presence. He was really attractive. And his lips were just as "full" looking as mine. His hair was blonde and was lazily falling into his face.

Something told me he looked very alike to me.

Wait, did Leon just say ex?

That's the ex that Aqua was talking about? The one that caused Leon to get a hell of a lot more grumpier than before?!

"Ex you say?" I clarified.

"We were engaged, but..." Leon mumbled.

"Things didn't work out," Rufus stated clearly with no hesitation. He plastered on a very fake smile. "I apologize for causing such a disruption in your office. I'll be sure to_ maintain my manners_ next time."

I'm sorry, but there was something about Rufus that really forced my attention to go to him. I don't know what it exactly was, but there was something there.

"Oh. It's... it's fine. I'm sorry for snapping at you. It was really-" I started.

"Uncalled for?" Rufus did that fake smile again, only this time flashing his perfectly straight and pearly white teeth, and took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah... I guess," I finished.

"We're here discussing some arrangements for our businesses, nothing else really," Leon informed.

"Nothing else at all," Rufus confirmed. His words would always have a snarkiness to them but still sound incredibly sweet and almost apologetic from the way he would say it. That's what really got me.

"Well, I'm just gonna leave you two alone now," I mumbled.

"That sounds like a perfect idea," Rufus agreed. Once again his snarky words sounded sweet and apologetic. It's like you couldn't' be angry with him.

"Goodbye for now, Cloud," Leon sighed, seeming to have become accustomed to Rufus' attitude. Rufus fake-smiled again. Was that the only smile he ever did? Does he ever smile really? His aura... I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's definitely weird.

"See ya," I mumbled, and I walked away toward Zack, who was conversing with none other than Axel himself. Zack seemed to be flirting with him, because he had that coy smile on his face, and Axel's face was the color of his hair. Axel was just a tad shorter than Zack, since Zack was extremely tall(6'5 everybody), but Axel's hair gave him a lift in height.

"Zack," I said. He looked up and his smile stopped. Zack scratched the back of his head.

"Oh hey Spikes..."

"Hoi," Axel said dryly, his face going back to regular color.

I groaned. "Hi Axel..." I said just as dryly.

Both of them started to ignore me again. "So you're saying your accent is actually heavier than how you're talking right now?" Zack asked.

Axel smiled. "Well yeah. Actually, I took some English pronunciation classes so I can sound somewhat American. Australians don't only say 'mate' and 'blimey' all the time, you know."

"It's fine. You can speak your regular dialect around me. I mean, I really wanna get to know _you_, not the person put up to fit in with society," Zack assured, both of them stepping closer to each other.

"Oh look at the time! We have to go home now! Goodbye Axel!" I exclaimed, stepping in between them.

"Well ah suppose I'm done hea havin' a yarn. Reckon this'll soon turn to ear-bash. I'm a goner," Axel said, winking at Zack, and he walked off with the ice cream Zack bought him still in his hand.

I groaned. "He can't just start talking in an Australian dialect and expect Americans to understand whatever the hell he's saying!"

Zack smiled. "I don't know, it sounds kinda cool. I think I'm gonna try to learn it someday."

* * *

**Leon**

"I don't like the way you look at him, Squall. Not at all," Rufus stated, blankly staring at me with a bored expression.

"And what is wrong with the way I look at him? He's my employee, Rufus. I have to look at him with respect."

"Respect, of course. Not lust."

"I'm sorry? Rufus, we're not even together in the first place. And I very well know that _lust_ is not tolerated in the workplace. How about you remain in your problems and stop looking after me? Or spying on me at that."

"So what's the deal, Squall? Do you have a particular taste in men? Do you prefer the blonde-hair-blue-eye kind of guy? It seems now it's having a new undertake. You like the hair to be a horrid unkempt-looking spiky mess."

"I will not allow you to speak about Cloud like that!" I shouted, standing up. Rufus widened his eyes and gawked at me, surprised about my sudden outburst. "Your rude, bossy, and incredibly judgmental attitude is what broke us up in the first place, and you will not break up my company as well. You blackmailing me will not stop me from kicking you off my partnership deal. Speak about my employees with respect."

Rufus pursed his lips and stood up. "I see. Very well then. You seem hot-headed right now as always, so I'm going to let you cool off. Call me when you're ready to act like a human being." And he pulled out his keys from his pocket and started to walk to his car parked on the side of the street: his very expensive Porsche.

I sighed. I hated to admit it, but maybe Rufus was right. Do I have a preference to blondies? All my past relationships were with blondies...

_Isn't your uncle blonde, Squall? _

Shut up.

I'm just going crazy from the lack of sleep I've been having lately. Out of habit, I stroked the scar across my nose as i stepped into my car. I looked from the corner of my eye and saw Cloud laughing with a very tall and muscular man with black spiky hair.

That smile... that face... that body... it was so different, so alluring... no way could be in my subconscious to be attracted to him. He was simply beautiful in his own way. I wish I could just hold him close to me and touch his extreme hair or kiss that soft skin of his.

_Stop lying to yourself, Squall. It's not healthy. _

Shut up!


	7. Chapter 7

**Cloud **

BEEP! *stopped*

Already up alarm, fuck you very much.

Haha, see the twist I did there? Instead of thank you I said fuck you? Haha...

Ah, never mind.

I turned on the radio, and it was playing my all time favorite song, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun. I jumped up in joy, and started dancing and singing along. I danced downstairs and opened my now-full fridge. Let's see, a bagel sounds nice.

_Is it real now?_

_When two people become one?_

_I can feel it now_

_When two people become one..._

The doorbell rang and I rushed towards the door, still bobbing to the beat. "Hello?" I asked once I opened it. I sighed. It was my extremely perverted landlord.

My landlord was nice and all, but he was extremely perverted and also happened to be gay. I've also come to the conclusion that he has a very fond interest in me, seeing how he always finds an excuse to stop by my apartment at least one every couple of weeks just to stare at my assets. Or just my ass.

"Mr. Vexen! Hey...how's it going?" I asked a tad bit dryly. I rested one hand on my hip, and the other on the door.

Mr. Vexen grinned and stared at my lips. "Amazing now that I was able to catch you. I wanted to let you know that this month the payment is due three days earlier than usual."

"I know, Mr. Vexen. I got the message in the mail... three times."

"Just wanted to remind you, is all." He grinned even more, his eyes trailing lower and lower on me. Remind me to never answer the door with only a baggy jersey on when it's Mr. Vexen at the door.

"Okay thank you have a good day!" I dismissed very quickly, and I shut the door. He's so creepy.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

The sound of my car's engine revving as I drove into the parking lot and pulled up into a reserved spot for a worker always got me giddy. I still have to get use to hearing that. I turned off the radio and stepped out, locking the door behind me.

"Morning, Cloud!" Aqua called out to me. I smiled and waved to her. She gasped and walked over to me. "What is this? A brand new sports car? Since when?" She extended her hand out and stroked the hood of the car, grinning at the feel.

"Ever since the bae got me it!" I answered.

She turned to me, shocked. "Are you serious? Your boyfriend got you it?"

"No, I'm kidding," I laughed. "My best friend got it for me. I don't even have a boyfriend."

"Yet, my good man. Yet," Aqua teased. We both laughed and entered the building, punching in our times. "How ya doing, Larxene? Long night?" Aqua asked her. According to the news going around, Larxene was engaged, so she had a lot going on in her life lately.

Larxene lightly laughed. "Yeah, but I know it'll be worth it in the end."

Had my usual coffee with Aqua. We discussed her date with Terra. Apparently it went smooth and she actually grew an interest in him. Terra happened to be a romantic man who had the same keen likes and dislikes as Aqua. Hope everything goes well with them. She needs some love to boost up her life these days.

And then. The dreaded call-in from my office.

"Mr. Strife?" Larxene asked from the receiver. I picked it up.

"Yes?" I asked.

"The boss would like to speak with you in his office."

"Tell him I'll be there soon."

"He said he knew you would say that and would like to see you _now_."

"..."

"You called me in, sir?" I asked, waltzing in the boss's door and taking a seat I have lately become too accustomed with. Rolling around on a spiraling chair was a familiar redhead who was loudly smacking on gum(and he seemed to be loudly smacking on it on purpose). Axel stopped spinning, took a glance at me, and then kept spinning. No rude remark or an annoyed face. Just a blank glance.

Good. Guess he got the memo that I'm done taking his bullshit.

You go Cloud. It's your birthday.

Not really.

I need a life.

Squall stopped pacing the room, sat down on his desk, and flashed a fake smile. "Axel?"

Axel stopped and raised his eyebrows at him, acknowledging that he was listening.

"You mind?" Squall asked sheepishly. He pointed to the door.

Axel rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course. My dearest apologies to the girly who fucks coffee. See you in a bit, yea?"

"Axel..." Squall warned, his voice giving a hint that now was not the time for dry jokes. I groaned, my cheeks tinting primrose. He never really did forget about that, did he. I should be more shocked to think that he would.

Hey wait did he just call me girly?

"Hey! I am not-"

But the door shut too soon, way before he could hear me finish my complaint. I groaned even louder and huffed, crossing my arms and turning to Squall.

"Excuse his behavior. Over the years he's grown a harsh attitude about life in general ever since those kids were so mean to him."

Suddenly my curiosity peaked. "Mean?"

"Oh yeah," Squall said, surprised that I wasn't aware. "You see, he was a bit of a loner. Well.. he still is. And his style wasn't helping either. Because he was so different from the rest, they would always pick on him, from elementary all the way to high school. I'm surprised he has the willpower to finish college."

College is a more open environment where barely anyone knows you.

All of a sudden the guilt stabbed me as I tried to look back and see how harsh I acted toward Axel. His social barrier, his weird looks he would give to us when we came to talk to him, me calling him names... I felt horrible. Outside he may not seem affected but inside he might be hurting even more because of me.

"You mean to tell me that even since elementary school, kids bullied him?"

"Of course! He was insanely fond of the color red. He wore worn out red Converse every day when he was in a school full of rich white people. They would call him a 'dumb bloke' and stuff like that, but I still to this day have no clue what they mean. And when he moved to America in 9th grade, believe me, we didn't have to ask him to learn the American dialect. Doesn't mean his Aussie accent doesn't come out every once in a while."

"Enough about Axel. What did you call me for?" I asked, tired of the guilt balling up in my stomach.

Squall sighed. "I wanted to know the answer to our little deal we had."

Oh right. You mean the one where I was blackmailed to be your bitch or get fired? Yeah, pretty tough decision.

I'm being sarcastic, folks.

Sheesh, tough crowd.

"Right..." I mumbled, starting to bite my bottom lip in minor frustration. I forgot to really think about that on my day off.

Squall's eyes wandered down to my lips, the lower one which was now being gnawed off. He smirked. "Your lips are probably so full and pink because they're always being chewed on."

I stopped and stared at him. Right. I shouldn't really do such an "irresistible" habit in front of him. I really have to break that anyway.

"Before I agree on this, do you mind if I get to know a little more about the person who'll be ordering me around?" He gave me a strange look. I cleared my throat and started to clarify. "I mean.. I feel like this is heavily one-sided, you know? I need to know the person I'm dealing with. After all, you will be controlling my body."

He slowly nodded. "So out with it then."

"Let's start with the basics." I leaned back in my chair. "How old are you?"

"29."

I could have sworn he looked like he just turned 25. Then again people say I look 16 and that angers me a lot. Especially when I'm trying to get a quick beer.

I slowly nodded. "What's your full name?"

"Squall Sky Leonhart."

"Sky? So pretty... You have a nickname I can call you?"

"Squall Leonhart."

"...have a better one?"

"Boss."

This isn't going anywhere.

"I heard Axel calls you Leon."

"Axel is my brother."

I sighed. "So uh... any reason why you only have really gorgeous people working here?"

He stopped and stared at me with wide eyes. I looked around, a bit nervous. Did I say something forbidden or something? I don't understand. He then looked down and had on a confused look. "You're the first person to ask me that..."

I raised my eyebrows. A point for me for having guts.

He closed his eyes. "Unfortunately that's an answer too personal for me to answer."

My eyebrows furrowed in a feeling of guilt. I hated it when he asked me personal questions. What made me think I can ask him some? Oh wait, but I didn't really think the answer would be personal. Just... move on Cloud. Keep the conversation moving forward.

He opened his eyes, but kept looking down at the desk. "I'm sorry for making this become awkward for you. Just brings back... painful memories..."

And for some reason, God knows what, I leaned in and kissed his cheek.

Squall looked up and stared into my eyes, analyzing my critical thoughts, trying to see my true motive for the action I just did. I bit my bottom lip again and sat back down, trying to contemplate myself why I just did that. For some reason, I just felt like he needed that. A sign that there was someone out there who cared about him.

Wait... I care about him?

Squall got up very slowly, walked over to me, and leaned forward, resting his hands on the armrests of my chair. His face was right in front of mine. He gazed at me intently. I gulped. My heart-rate was pulsing fast. I could feel the hormones circulating my body as all I could think about was kissing those lips that were so close to me. And I had no clue why.

"You're doing that lip thing again," he mumbled oh-so-very quietly.

I continued to bite it and nodded.

"Didn't I warn you that gets people sexually frustrated?" he asked.

I tugged on one side of my bottom lip with my teeth and eventually released.

"Like me?" he asked, his voice extremely husky. The way it changed out of nowhere was extremely sexy.

I smiled evilly. "Oh really?"

And with that he lunged forward and slammed his lips down on mine, moving at a passionate pace. I grabbed his cheeks and opened my mouth, moaning as his tongue seeped into my mouth. One hand soon found its way to his hair, and gripped it tightly.

This kiss. I didn't want it to end.

But unfortunately it did.

And it was because of me.

I slowly pulled away from him, still holding his cheeks. I stared at him for a few moments. "What was that about?" I asked him, my voice overtaking that low and sexy thing it would do when I was turned on.

He moaned in want. "Cloud..."

Axel decided to walk in the room, tossing a Monster bottle up and down. "Yo. It's lunch break. I'm pretty sure Cloud wants to eat... you okay, mates?"

Both of us immediately separated and cleared our throats, attempting to dismiss the fact that we were in a very awkward position.

"Whatever you're thinking... it's... wrong," I bluntly stated, scratching my head at my poor excuse.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Um... sure. You coming to eat or what? _Or are you waiting for your coffee to come and hit you up?_"

I groaned and stood up, marching past him. "If you bring that coffee thing up _one more time_-"

"You'll what? _Spit at me?_ AH DAH YEW," Axel exclaimed, his accent accidentally coming out.

"I have some aluminum foil wrapping my sandwich. I'm not afraid to _choke you with it,_" I retorted.

"Ooh, ahm so scared. The mate's gonna use hees all-uh-mini-yum _shit_ on me," Axel spat back at me.

"Guys, please! Not in here," Squall mumbled, rubbing his head. In anger, I stomped outside and slammed the door shut. It immediately opened with Axel behind, a smirk on his face.

I pointed to him. "Don't you dare follow me!"

"Don't you want to know what I have to say?"

"NO."

"Funny, 'cause I'm pretty sure you don't want everyone to know about your little affair with Leon you've been having."

I stopped and widened my eyes. Fuck he just say?

His smirk increased, his teeth showing this time(which looked incredibly sexy might I add). "Yes. I did not hesitate."

I narrowed my eyes. "Explain."

He took a deep breath, his facial expression snapping to serious. "I overheard your little conversation you had with Leon two days ago. And then, out of curiosity... I listened to your conversation today and-"

"You listened to our conversation?!" I exclaimed, my face contorting to anger.

He remained calm. "I wasn't done, mate."

I huffed a breath of annoyance and remained quiet.

"At first I wanted to confront him about it, but then I realized something. If I did that, then he would assume that other people heard as well, and then he would fire you. And I actually don't really want that to happen-"

"Why? Don't you hate me?" I spat.

He flinched. "No... not really. You're actually one of my very few..." He stopped and looked down.

My face softened. I totally forgot about what Squall told me about him. And here I was treating him like shit again.

"Um... of course. Yeah, thanks for not telling," I mumbled, deciding not to tell him that I knew about his issues he use to have with his classmates.

He sighed. "I decided to come up with a deal."

I groaned. Another compromise?

He looked around, nervous. His face started to tinge pink. Was he... embarrassed?

"Yeah?" I asked, waiting for him to continue.

He took a deep breath. "I won't tell anybody about you and Leon if... you help me..."

"Help you what? You gotta continue. I'm not a mind reader..._ mate_," I mocked.

"If you help me get Zack to go out with me!" Axel outburst. He winced, afraid to look at my expression. Only my expression wasn't bad. It was mixture between shock and joy. Does he seriously like Zack? Oh goodness... this is too adorable! Wait... Axel's gay too? Hmm. Whatever.

I smiled. "You like Zack?"

He slowly opened his eyes and sighed, rolling them. "Well... to put it in a blunt manner... he's extremely attractive and he's really nice and... I don't know. My heart always jumps a little whenever he smiles and..." Axel started to smile a little to himself.

I bit my bottom lip in pure joy. This was way too cute.

I grinned. "Okay Axel. That seems fair enough. And if I get Zack to go out with you... you have to promise to be my best friend."

He looked up at me and gave me a confused look.

"Yeah I said it. Best. Friends. As in hang out together. Share secrets. Buy each other birthday gifts and rant about first world problems." I winked.

He blinked repeatedly in pure shock. "Best... friends? But why-"

"I just want to be your best friend. Is that so hard to ask?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I never really had a best friend before."

"Yeah? Well you'll get two new ones. Me and your boyfriend Zack."

"He's not my-"

"He will be." I winked again, this time a grin being added.

Axel blushed. "Why... why are you being... nice to me?"

I shrugged. "You seem cool. And I want a new friend. Besides, I was always jealous of your hair." I flashed a friendly smile and turned around and started to walk away. From the corner of my eye I saw him smile, and I felt great inside. You know why?

Because inside I knew he was excited to know the true feeling of a best friend for once.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I just want to let you all know that I do acknowledge your reviews and I thank you for them. I also wanna thank you guys for letting me know when a chapter is repeating. My Microsoft is total shee-it when it comes to working with Fanfiction, so I apologize for the *very frequent* inconveniences. **

**Thanks for reviewing guys. It's really appreciated. And thanks for all the amazing PM's! :)**

**BTW, college has really got me time-strapped. Lol, it's New York slang for "I never have time for anything lately." My professors, man... can't they understand that I have amazing-and-really-awesome-fans that are relying on my every upload of new updates for this story or else they'll freaking collapse?!**

**No. No, I don't think they understand. Sadly, our world isn't that awesome yet. maybe someday, but definitely not now. :/**

**However, if you didn't already SCROLL PAST THIS, then I have my usual message for you. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud**

"He what?" Axel asked, astonished from my previous answer.

"You heard me. He thinks. You're cute," I repeated.

Axel couldn't help but grin. Then he frowned again, narrowing his eyes. "Are you lying to me?"

I shook my head. "He thinks you're _cute_. But don't you think there's a difference between cute and _sexy_...?" I asked him, partially talking about myself. Everyone always calls me cute. Perhaps if I was more on the sexy side, maybe I would be able to grab Sephiroth's full attention.

Sheesh, why am I so obsessed with this man?

Axel looked confused. "Sexy? What are you talking 'bout?"

I slowly broke out into a sly smile. "What do you think about getting a mini-makeover? Just a mini one, nothing too drastic, but enough for Zack to notice. Well?" I asked him, waiting for his reply.

Axel blankly stared at me. "I don't get it. I thought you said he thought I was cute."

"He did."

"So what's wrong with the way I look? What exactly do I need changing-"

"It's just a mini-makeover! C'mon!"

"But I-"

"Okay great!" I cut off, grabbing him and pulling him to my car. His face grew into a face of confusion.

~~~~CW~~~~

**Sephiroth**

"Mmm..." I moaned, my tongue sliding around this boy's mouth whom I have no clue what his name is. But whoever he was, he was an amazing kisser, and I think I want some more than this simple making out.

I separated and groaned as I heard the doorbell rang. It better be a fucking god or something for me to split my remaining time I have left with this gullible and innocent freshman from college. "Excuse me for a moment."

The boy nodded, smiling with a sparkle in his eyes, and put on a shirt.

I opened the door, not even bothering to check through the peephole, and there was Zack. Hmm. Beautiful, sculpted-like-a-god, immensely sexy, incredibly hot looking self standing right at my door. With an expression that usually doesn't mean I-want-to-fuck.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't act like you don't know what you're doing in there."

My eyes slowly trailed over to his motorcycle, sitting there. Then my eyes trailed over to the Starbucks across the street, somewhere he liked to hang out at.

Well fuck. He must have seen the shadows through my window. I really do need to buy some curtains.

He pointed a finger at me. "If that's not Cloud in there, then I'll..." He huffed, trying to come up with a torturous solution. Only, I couldn't help but lightly smirk at the beautiful complexion Zack had going on. It's such a shame he was a bit taller than me. Just a bit though. I can make it work. That is, if he lets me.

"Who's Cloud?" I asked, genuinely confused. Why is he showing up at my door, trying to give me these random names?

Zack widened his eyes, then gritted his teeth. His hands balled up into fists. "You mean you're telling me you forgot about the man who you've took the virginity of, the man who had you become his first love, the one who let you do everything to him and he still lets you come back to him. You mean to tell me... that you don't even know who he _is_?!"

I gulped. Zack is kind of scary in this offsetting.

I laughed nervously. "Of course I do. Why... he's the one who I have in this room right now."

"That's it. I'm done with you. I'm tired of keeping your little secret for this long. He's gonna know."

"No he won't."

"Yes he will. Because I'm going to tell him."

But before he could go, I grabbed him and kissed him, attempting to wow him with my impressing charm and good kisses. But instead, I simply got forcefully pushed away. Zack grimaced as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't you _ever_ pull a stunt like that again or I can truly demonstrate what my hands are capable of," Zack warned.

I smirked. "Please do."

"Man whore..." he muttered, and he walked over to his motorcycle and slipped on the helmet, the eye-shield slipping down as he revved off.

Now, why do I have a strong feeling that I should be worried?

"Seph?" the boy called. I gasped. I almost forgot.

"Coming," I mumbled, looking around before walking back inside.

* * *

Zack

As quick as ever, I sloppily parked my motor bike in front of the apartment building and climbed up the stairs to his level. Banging on the door, I looked around, a bit nervous. What would Cloud say? Should I leave out the part where Sephiroth kissed me? No, I have to be 100% honest. He's my best friend. I can't do that to him!

Axel opened the door, his mouth making a tiny "o." He smiled. "Zack. Hey."

"H-hey..." I mumbled, my eyes trailing down to his boxers. His boxers that were there for one reason. I was truly curious to see what was under. What was under those cute little boxers that showed off legs that didn't belong to amateurs?

They soon found themselves trailing over to his lips. Those slightly tinted-pink lips. I wouldn't call them a Cloud-style full lips, as Cloud has lips of a goddess, but these lips, Axel's lips, they were perfect. And when the corners of them reached out into a smile, it made my stomach birth thousands of butterflies. His eye contact from those deep green emeralds always keeping me off-balance.

He blinked. "You okay, mate?" Ah, his accent is so sexy. I don't understand how someone can want to change that about themselves. Just listening to Axel speak gets me hard. Wait.

...the fuck am I saying?

I smiled. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."

He slowly nodded, then stopped, looking up at me with quizzical eyes. "Your pupils are really dilated there."

I blinked repeatedly. "Oh, they do that," I assured, laughing it off, even though I knew for a fact that they only did that when I was hard. Maybe if I could just play off my boner by fixing my pants nonchalantly.

"You came here because...?"

My head snapped into focus. "Yeah, uh... is Cloud here? You know... at his apartment?"

Axel nodded. "Yea. Just hold on." And he walked off.

I just want to see what's under those boxers. Is he doing this on purpose? Is he teasing me? Ah, I hate this. He doesn't seem to give off the whole I-like-you vibe though. He actually seems to give off a your-weird-don't-talk-to-me one.

Soon Cloud started to follow close behind, Axel staying behind. It made me slightly disappointed. It made me even more disappointed when I saw Cloud's bright and happy smile, knowing that my message was soon going to bring it to tears. But I just can't. I can't keep this from him any longer. For years I've never told him this, and I won't keep it no more.

"Cloud..." I mumbled.

He raised his eyebrows in awareness. "Yep?"

I sighed. I can't do this. He needs to be in a bad mood so this can be easier.

No. The time is now.

"There's something you should know about Sephiroth."

"Ah... Cloud, ah can't seem to find the toothpaste..." Axel mumbled, coming down the stairs, wrapped in only a towel slightly falling from his waist, revealing a nicely shaped V, and damp, dark brown hair hanging from his head, accentuating his bright green eyes even more. When it came to abs, he wasn't the most developed, but it was totally fine. It just added to the whole "mysterious" kind of vibe he had going on. Damn, do I love Aussies.

My voice control suddenly disappeared. I was at a lost for words. I officially have a crush on this guy.

And boy, was he making it so hard for me to deliver an important message.

Cloud smiled. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that I moved it. There's a new pack of them in the cabinet under the sink."

Axel nodded, gave me a subtle look, and then climbed back up the stairs.

Cloud grinned. "Sorry. He's going for a... new look."

"He's, uh..."

Cloud raised his eyebrows again, waiting for an answer.

I shook my head. "As I was saying..."

"Zack... whatever it is... it can probably wait, okay? I really don't have the time right now. Axel's hair-ends will break if I don't go tend to them!" And Cloud started to go. I stopped him. Cloud turned to me, looking a bit annoyed. "Look, I gotta go give him this-"

"Lemme give it to him."

"You? Why?" Cloud asked.

"Uhh... just lemme give it to him."

Cloud stared at me with narrow eyes, contemplating if he should agree with this. Eventually he just shrugged and gave me the conditioner, giving me the time of "five minutes" or he'll come up and check what I'm doing. With speed, I stormed up the stairs to Cloud's bedroom. Knocking first, I then slowly opened the door, and then peeped inside, seeing nothing at first. Then I heard some guitar riffs playing from a sort of speaker.

I turned to my left to see Axel drying his body with a towel, earphones in his ears, quietly and very prettily humming to himself. I gasped, half expecting him to be finished dressing already. I came to talk to him. Not to peep at him. What happened to just washing the hair?

Axel slightly looked over his shoulder, the natural sixth sense of a human kicking in. Once he saw that no one was there, he continued to hum along to the song.

I finally decided to show myself. I waited for him to look up in the mirror. Once he did, he screamed and dropped everything, including the towel. Quickly shielding my eyes, I picked up the towel and handed it to him. Axel snatched it away from me, his face burning red.

The music stopped. He tightly wrapped his towel around his waist. Along the small of his back was a tattoo of a bald eagle flapping its wings wide toward his shoulder, as if it was trying to fly free from his back. It was beautiful. Just like him.

Axel composed himself, his face turning to original color, and then turned to me. "A knock is in check, yea?"

"I... I did knock. You just didn't hear it."

"Maybe_ louder_ next time?" he sighed.

Oh man did he not understand how I took that sentence.

I cleared my throat, trying not to get... you know... horny. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's... it's fine. You have the conditioner?" he asked, still not looking at me, seeming a bit embarrassed for me to see him like this. I happened to like it. The only barrier was the towel, reminding me that we weren't like that... yet, hopefully.

"Yes, but... can I ask you something?"

Axel nodded, looking at his reflection in the mirror, then peering over at my reflection. His piercing green eyes were 100% on me, and somehow that made my heart jump a little. I gulped. Stay calm. Keep cool.

"When you know someone that likes someone else... but you want to tell them that the person they're after... isn't the one you want... how do you say it?"

Axel's eyes looked down, and suddenly looked very thoughtful, sad even, as if what I was asking him complied to his life currently. He slowly blinked, and sighed. "I, uh... I don't know. What ah you trying to say?" he asked, his voice very soft.

I shook my head. "It's nothing."

It was silent for a while, both of us just standing there awkwardly. That's when Axel decided to look back up at the mirror, looking at my reflection, still not once truly looking at me yet. "Zack."

The name sounded so fitting in that sexy Australian accent of his. "Yeah?"

His cheeks tinted a primrose. "Don't laugh."

"I won't," I said, already starting to smile.

He winced. "Can you teach me how to kiss and you know... be sexy?"

I blinked. Where did that come from? Why does he want to be sexy and know how to kiss? He wants to impress someone? Who is it? So I don't have a chance with him? Damn it.

"Axel..." I mumbled.

"Hmm?"

I walked over to him and turned him toward me. He grabbed his towel, making sure it didn't fall. I held his chin up towards my face, staring into his emerald eyes. Instantly, they dilated. His breathing slowly got quicker, and his ears looked like a tomato hit it.

I put my forehead against his. "Close your eyes."

"What are you-"

"Axel."

He closed his eyes. I gazed at his lips, longing to kiss them. "I'll show you how to be sexy. I'll show you how to kiss too. But you have to promise me that whoever you're trying to impress is a good person."

Axel's face turned into confusion, his eyes still closed. "Why do you care really? Doesn't hurt you. The bloke doesn't even notice me yet."

"Because I care about you." I slowly leaned in and kissed him gently, my heart enjoying every second of it. After about seven seconds, I pulled away, still holding his chin in my hand. Axel slowly opened his eyes, shocked at the action I just made.

"What..."

"Lesson 1. Make your crush swoon. Seduce him to the point of an interest. Not too much yet. Just to the point where he wants a little more."

Axel nodded, smiling and looking down. I couldn't help but smile back. Not only because I got an excuse to kiss him but also because he was happy. And that was the most important part.

Axel looked up at me, smirking. "Is this how all the lessons gonna be, mate?"

I laughed. "You can bet there'll be a handful like this... mate."

He lightly pushed me and laughed, both of us feeling at ease with each other. And for now, I couldn't ask for more to settle with.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Cloud screamed from downstairs. Axel and I ran downstairs, curious to know what happened. Cloud turned to us.

"It's bad. Horrible. Heart-wrenching."

Oh shit. This is gonna be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Cloud**

This is actually one of the very few times I go out alone. Due to my fear of looking-like-a-loner, I tend to tag along in groups or a partner when I explore the Great Outdoors. So when Zack was surprised that I told him that I just needed to think things out alone at a random bar in the middle of the night alone, I wan't surprised either.

"You sure?" he had asked me.

"Positive," I assured, although I wasn't sure myself.

So now here I am. Alone. Drinking some foreign drink that seems to be really hard, because I'm already getting a buzz after a couple of sips. I did ask for the hardest thing they got though.

I needed to think things out. Sephiroth had told me that he had something very important to talk to me about involving our so-called "relationship." What is it? Have I done something wrong? We're not even like that yet! In fact, I don't know what to call us.

I sighed, holding my head in my hands and closing my eyes. Why is my life such a complete mess? I'd love to have a grasp on things for once, please Lord.

From the corner of my eye, a man that looked to be in his mid-forties eyed me down. He looked kind of suspicious and awkward at the same time, like he knew what he was thinking but he was wondering if people knew what he was thinking. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't exactly my type either.

I closed my eyes again and let the liquor sink in. A couple minutes later I heard someone breathing next to me. When I opened my eyes, it was the same man that was gazing at me from a distance. I sighed. This isn't the first time I've attracted a middle-aged man. And they usually don't understand what "no" stands for. Hopefully this one won't cause that much trouble, because I'm seriously not in the mood for it.

The man smiled at me and raised an eyebrow. "You look drained out. You okay?"

"I'm fine," I muttered, only merely glancing in his direction. In order to drive him off, I have to make it seem like he's not wanted here.

"You look kind of pissed off. Something got you angry? Maybe it's this atmosphere. Perhaps, I can take you somewhere better? More... quiet?" he asked me, his voice getting a bit more husky. Yeah, this isn't working so well.

"Maybe I'm pissed off because you came over here to talk to me. Usually when someone isolates themselves, they don't wish to make conversation with strangers twice your age," I snapped. I felt a little bad for being so harsh but like I said. I wasn't in the mood.

"Aw, that's a little mean, don't you think?" he laughed. I groaned.

"Excuse me," I mumbled, getting up and heading for the bathroom. Maybe if I stay in there long enough, he'll go away. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I anxiously pulled it out and looked at it.

"Unknown number...?" I mumbled to myself.

_If only you can know how I truly feel. See the way I see you in my eyes. Feel the way I do when I'm near you. Then maybe you would understand the pain I feel everyday sleeping in my bed without you next to me, knowing you probably don't even care. _

Who was this?

I gasped. What if it's Sephiroth revealing his undying love for me but felt to embarrassed so he did it with an unknown caller? I bit my bottom lip. Is this what he wanted to talk about?

_Who is this? Please, tell me more so I can understand_, I texted back. I waited for a solid seven minutes. Nothing in return.

Finally, I just stepped out of the stall and went back out to the bar table, climbing(yes, climbing, I'm 5"4 leave me along) onto the bar stool and peering into my drink. It was a little less than halfway done. I knew I was driving my own car, and if I drank anymore I would impair my driving capabilities more than I'v already have. Nonetheless, I still finished it, since I paid way too much for this drink to simply dispose it.

I left a generous tip to the bartender and dug for my keys in my pockets, heading out the door. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, my head started to spin. The whole world became fuzzy, and I felt like my insides were going to implode.

Doubling over, the world around me slowly faded into a darkness. When I was able to peek one more time at the scene I was leaving, I saw the same middle aged man that tried to talk to me staring me down, a huge grin on his face, and a strange looking bottle in his hand.

Then I gave out.

* * *

**Leon**

I stared at the phone, pondering if I should reply or not. Was it safe to say it was me? Would he look at me the same if he knew it was me? Would I still have his respect if he knew it was me? What if he thinks I'm some horny bastard that only wanted sex? Which I'm going to get from him tomorrow, if I'm lucky.

I slowly put the phone down. I can't. I shouldn't.

Or maybe I should tell him. But in person. I don't think he'll take me seriously if I just text my inner feelings and thoughts. Cloud needs to know how I feel. He needs to take my emotions about him into perspective and decide from there if he still wants my offer. I feel guilty just using him like this. I don't want it to be this way.

That's when I decided that my conscience was right.

I picked my wallet, keys, and phone up, headed toward my front door, picked the first car in sight(a motorcycle), stuck a helmet on, and drove off, leaving my butler confused as I usually tell him my whereabouts.

I ended up pulling up to Cloud's apartment, which I found out only because he texted it to me when I needed his address to mail his supplies. Licking my lips in nervousness, I walked up to the door and held my fist up to it. Am I really going to do this?

I knocked.

A foreign boy answered. He was about head-to-head with me, and was very attractive. But of course, not as stunning as Cloud. What's with Cloud and his handsome companions?

Beautiful sees as beautiful does.

"Yes?" the man asked, his face feigning friendliness. Which put me at ease a little.

"Hi. I'm...uhh... a friend of Cloud's. Is... is he home right now?" I replied, nonchalantly peering around the man to see Cloud's apartment. It wasn't big, but it was surely enough for one person. And it _certainly_ looked like someone inhabited it.

I smiled a little. Who knew Cloud's a little messy. It made him seem even cuter for some reason. As if the world's too big for him to even manage on his own.

The man shook his head. "Nah. He actually left for the bar down the street. If you want, you can find him over there."

I nodded, a little disappointed that I wouldn't get to have a one-on-one with him.

_Expected Scenario: _

_Cloud opens the door. _

_"Cloud," I breathed. _

_"Squall... what are you doing here?" _

_I walked closer to him. "I came to see you. To tell you that... I love you."_

_"Oh Squall... I feel the same way!"_

_"Then let's make endless love until the dawn breaks wind."_

_"Whatever the fuck that means, then let's get it on!" Cloud exclaimed. _

_And we both made love until sunset peaked. _

Real Scenario:

What's happening right now.

Riding my motorcycle was dangerous for me. If they say drinking and driving is dangerous, so is worrying and driving. I constantly found myself running lights, missing stop signs, and almost running over dogs in worry of Cloud's reaction when I tell him how I feel.

When I arrived there, I slowly pulled off my helmet and embraced for the worst response. The lower my hopes were, the greater I would feel when the results weren't as bad. I have to admit, I got gawked at from a handful of people, winking and smiling at me, girls and boys. Why?

I'm probably the most ugliest thing in the world.

Not probably.

I am.

Out of habit, my hand grazed my scar across my nose. I stepped inside and walked towards the bartender. He jerked his chin to me, acknowledging me. "Can I get you anything, sir?" he asked me, wiping a wine glass down thoroughly.

I looked around while talking to him. "Have you seen a short man with blonde spiky hair and features that lean toward a feminine angle? His name's Cloud."

He nodded. Cloud was not an easy person to forget about. "Yeah, I did actually."

"Can you tell me where he is?" I asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"He left a while ago. This man followed him. I don't think he really liked the man though."

"What?" I asked, not completely understanding what he was trying to tell me.

"This man was trying to flirt with Cloud. Cloud made it aware that he didn't like him that way, but the man didn't seem to get it. Next thing you know, Cloud's out the door and the man is closely behind. You know... I think I saw him try to put something inside Cloud's drink but I wasn't sure-"

I grabbed the man's collar and pulled him toward me. "Then why didn't you _do something?_!"

A drop of sweat dropped from the bartender's forehead. "I... I didn't know! I wasn't sure! I didn't want to hurt my chance of a generous tip, you know? Accusations make angry customers!"

"So you'd rather have a couple extra dollars in your pocket than the life of a customer?!" I spat at him through gritted teeth.

He shook his head fervently. "It's not like that-"

"Do you know what happens to people who drink spiked drinks? Do you?"

He shook his head even more.

"It involves blood. And it's not a clean result." I pushed him away from me. "Do you know who the man is?"

"No. I do know that he comes here a lot. Says he owns a storage house south of here."

"Where is south of here?" I asked, my anger starting to rise to my face.

"I don't know, but he says you should find it at an end of a street. And there's only one street here that ends and its-"

"I know where it is!" I exclaimed, picking myself up and walking away.

I didn't have much time left, but I did know that wherever that man took Cloud, it was probably at that storage place. The last place he would evidence of what he's doing is at his own home. So the storage place is the first place to visit on my list.

Before I drove off on my motorcycle, I picked up my phone and attempted to call Cloud. He didn't pick up, no surprise there. Gritting my teeth, I carelessly slipped my helmet on and accelerated down the highway.

* * *

**Cloud**

"Who is this Squall person trying to contact you, huh?" a man asked, showing my phone to me. "If he keeps calling, your blood is gonna be on the walls faster than I expected." Another man simply walked up to him and threw the phone on the ground, stepping on it and finally shot it.

"There. If you still get a call from him, go ahead and shoot yourself," the man assured.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I was too weak to even speak. Whatever they made me drink, it certainly worked at shutting my body down. I even felt like breathing was a difficult task to do. My hands and feet were tied up, my mouth was taped down, and a gun was constantly pointed to my face. Even if I wanted to fight, I didn't exactly have options here.

But Squall. He was calling. He knows about all of this. He cared. He wanted to help.

The thought made me weakly smile behind my tape.

At that moment, the door burst open, and a familiar man with silver long hair came in with a curious face. "Who do you guys got this time?" He turned to me and stopped. I slowly looked up and widened my eyes. Can this be?

Sephiroth?! Is he here to save me?

He gulped and looked down. "On second thought, I got stuff to do guys."

"Really? But this one's a keeper."

"Nah... I'm going." And he left. He straight-up left me here with these horny rapists with guns.

I can't believe him. He's getting a word from me once I leave this.

If I leave this.

The man from the bar walked up to me and smiled, his breath suggesting he was somewhat on the influence. "So... what's your name, cutie?"

The man pointing a gun at me suddenly ripped off my tape on my mouth. My mouth throbbed, and I yelped. Everyone laughed. I looked up at the man and narrowed my eyes, deciding not to give him an answer.

"Babe, you're dying here tonight. Might as well tell me who I'm going to finish off."

I widened my eyes, tears filling them. Die? But... so many things I wanted to experience that I haven't got the chance to yet.

"Okay, that's fine. We'll nickname you Spiky. You won't ever see me or this life again so I'll tell you who I am. I'm Auron, and this is my crew here. We're not going to kill you just yet though. We're going to have some fun first. All of us. Hope you're tiny little hole can take us all in one night."

I gasped. No. I've never been raped before. Nonetheless by seven men.

"Don't," I mumbled weakly. "Don't."

They all laughed again. "Turning me down? I think not. DJ," Auron said. The man with the gun to my head pulled out a knife and suddenly sliced the rope holding my legs together in two. He pushed the gun further into my head. "You kick, I shoot. Nothing slick."

I gulped and listened. I didn't kick. But no one said I was going to open my legs.

Auron put his hands on my knees and yanked them apart, his strength alarming me. Two men held my legs apart as Auron started to remove him pants. "Put him on his knees." I was pushed forward, a gun pointed to the back of my hand, and forced into a knee position.

"Let's give me a nice hard-on first. I think you should give us a warm-up, no?" Auron asked. They all cheered in agreement. I gulped. What if this man has STD's? I'm screwed. That means if I don't die here(which I will), I'll die later on from STD's. It's a lose-lose situation.

He held my head tightly and pulled his boxers down. "Suck," he commanded.

This sounded so familiar. Only the way I remembered it it wasn't this forceful or violent. And I enjoyed it.

I pursed my lips.

"I said _su_ck!" he shouted. The man pushed the gun harder into my head, reminding me that I didn't have a choice. But did I honestly care? I'd rather die of dignity than die of this humiliation.

"No."

"What?" Auron asked, his face contorting to anger.

I looked up at him. "No," I croaked a bit louder. Auron suddenly grabbed my neck and strangled me. All the blood rushed to my head, my face turning blood-red.

He narrowed his eyes. "You wanna die? You must be feeling suicidal, don't you?"

I winced. I really couldn't breathe.

He threw me on the floor and slapped me. I yelped, and he grabbed my head and pulled me toward his man part. I gulped as tears started to roll down my face. So this is how it's gonna end, huh? I was originally hoping for old age.

The door slammed open and a guy ran toward Auron and kicked him in the balls from the behind. Auron screamed and doubled over, clutching his dick. Serves you right, bitch.

The man ran to me, giving a better view of him. He smiled. "C'mon."

It was Squall.

My heart melted. In a good way.

"Open fire!" someone shouted, and all the men started to point their guns at Squall. He quickly grabbed me and rushed out of the door. One of them barely missed his arm, skinning it. He lightly groaned, but kept moving. Shutting the door behind him, he guided me through a series of stairs.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"I put the pieces together on what the bartender told me."

"You went looking for me? Why?"

He stopped and looked at me. "Well because I-"

The door four stories in front of us slammed open and they quickly searched the stairwell. They weren't going to give up that easily. Squall suddenly picked me up and threw me over his shoulder and started to run down the last couple of stories. I gasped. This was so heroic. I felt like a princess.

I mean, cough cough, a prince.

I think.

Once we were downstairs, he kicked open the exit door and ran out, not bothering to close it. Fervently, he searched the area for something sharp. He found a broken piece of wine glass. Then he walked toward me and started cutting my ropes up.

"You're bleeding," I mumbled.

"I know."

I gazed at him. He came to save me, regardless of how his life was put in danger. And Sephiroth-

Oh, I'll remember him.

Once all my ropes on my hand were gone, Squall took my wrists and examined the red bruises and cuts from the tight roping on them. He shook his head, his face contorting to anger, and gestured for me to follow him. I did just that.

We reached a motorcycle, a very _very_ fancy, expensive, and sexy-looking motorcycle. He took a helmet and slipped it on my head.

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'm fine."

I gulped. He was doing so much for me. And I couldn't do nothing to help him.

He looked at me. "Your car is still over at the bar. You wanna go get it, or I can drop you off at home?"

I shook my head. "I'll get it tomorrow. I think I'd rather be in the safety of my house and contemplate on things instead of drive."

He nodded and smiled. "I'm glad I found you alive." And he pulled me in a hug. I warmly hugged him back. Oh Squall, I personally believe you deserve so much more than a hug.

"You see 'em?" a man shouted.

Squall quickly hopped on the motorcycle. I hopped on behind him. He turned his head towards me. "You've ever ridden on a motorcycle before?"

I shook my head. I'm actually terrified of them, but now's not the time to say that.

He gently took my hands and put them around his waist. "Keep them there. That's your only seat-belt." I gripped him tightly in response. He lightly laughed and revved the engine, pushing his legs off the ground and rolling forward slowly.

"There!" they shouted, and started shooting again. Suddenly, a sound of police sirens came, and all the men's faces looked like they were going to pee in their pants. I grinned.

"So who called the cops?"

Squall smiled. "Did I mention that I can be a snitch sometimes?"

And the motorcycle sped down the street. I laughed and caressed Squall the entire time, completely forgetting everything that just happened and just being happy that I was safe in his company.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

As usual at two in the morning, the parking lot was empty of visitors. Only the resident parking were full, meaning Zack and Axel went off, assuming I ditched them after being out for a long time, which in fact, wasn't my choice.

Squall walked me up to my front door, a tear somehow falling down my face. Squall noticed, and stood in front of me, causing me to stop walking. He held my chin towards him and smiled. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and smiled with him. "I'm just so happy. That I'm alive. That I wasn't able to catch any STD. That..." I wanted to say that I'm with him, but I wasn't sure that would sound right. I mean, do I love him? I couldn't say for sure. But I could say that every ounce of attraction I had left for Sephiroth was gone. I was over him.

Squall shrugged. "It's nothing, really. People do crazy things for love." I titled my head in confusion and examined his face. It was almost as if he was speaking to himself and didn't remember I was hear.

I looked at Squall's arm. "You should come inside. I have something that can fix that." Yes squall, I am inviting you into my house. Where only the people I truly care about come inside. Not even my dad came in. Well that's because... well fuck dad.

Squall held his hand up. "I shouldn't. I have people that can take car of this for me. It's fine. I'll just-"

"No, really-"

"I don't want you feeling like you have to treat me like this because I-"

I put my index finger on his lips, having to go on my tippy toes to reach it. "Squall. Please."

"Just call me Leon."

My cheeks turned pink while my insides melted again. He told me to call him Leon. A nickname that he only allowed his brother to say. Such an advancement, going from calling him "boss" or "Mr. Leonhart" to simply Leon. It made me feel special.

"Leon, come inside." I grabbed his hand, a spark being felt between us, and I pulled him inside my apartment.

**Leon**

I looked around, observing the nicely-sized TV in a room full of well-placed couches, accompanied by a couple of half-filled plastic cups. Around the room everything was nicely arranged, but had a couple of "accessories" ruining the illusion. I didn't care. The fact that I was in Cloud's home made me high.

"I'm sorry," he laughed, running toward areas in room where there were misplaced dishware, clothes, and papers while picking them up. "As you can see, I can be a bit messy." He blushed. "Or a lot."

I shook my head and smiled. "It's fine, really."

While he was organizing the place, I walked over to a desk with some pictures on it. There was one of him as a little toddler, grinning happily, his bright blue eyes lighting up. There was one of him on a swing, a boy about his size pushing him. There was one where he had his hand over another boy's shoulder, both of them looking to be about 12 with smiles on their faces. One had dark spiky hair and the other had smooth blonde. Cloud used to have smooth hair?

Moving along the timeline, I was able to observe how Cloud's hair slowly got spiky over the years, and how his face started to mature but his short stature remained. The same boy with him in the swing pictures continued to be with him on the others, only you could see that he was getting a lot taller and maturing as well.

It ended in two photos being closely together. One being a picture of Cloud in a gown holding a diploma in the air, caressing a very young woman with almost the same facial features as him. They both looked genuinely happy. The last photo was a picture of the same guy that opened the door for me to this same house earlier along with Cloud. Both of them were doing funny faces while pointing at each other, and the frame said "Best Friends Forever and Always."

"I see you stumbled across my photo collection," Cloud mumbled as he walked up to me. I looked around and sure enough, the house was spotless. He moves quick.

"Yeah. I noticed the same number of people show up in these repetitively. You mind telling me who they are?" I asked softly. I liked how the tension between us wasn't there anymore. How I felt so relaxed next to him. How I didn't have to hold up a wall and make him feel nervous. I didn't see him as a worker and he didn't see me as his boss anymore. He saw me as Leon.

"It's my mom and Zack, my best friend. I had a small family, but... they were all I needed." He smiled at the thought.

I nodded. I wanted to ask about his dad, but I felt like I would be sticking my nose in his business, and I didn't want him to see me as nosy. But sure enough, he looked at my face and nodded. "You want to know about my dad?"

I quickly turned to him. "Oh! Oh, that's, uh..."

"My dad divorced my mom when I was 13. And it was because of me. When I came out to him at 11, it seemed to completely shatter his little world of a family with a straight-son who would carry on his name and give him grandchildren. But it wasn't like that. He was getting the feeling that I was gay since I was five, but it seemed like telling him straight-forward just blew the whole thing up. He started to hate my mom more and more. Two year later he finally he told her that she was a piece of shit for birthing a gay son. Then he just took off, not telling me anything. It devastated my mom, and it made me feel horrible, like I was to blame. But my mom assured me that it wasn't my fault, and continued to love me. She never judged me. And I love her to death for that. At that time I was very clingy, since I lost my only father. But they didn't care. Zack and my mom comforted me and stuck with me even when I needed them the most. You can't find people better than that."

I nodded. and empathized. I understood where he was coming from. Cloud, I mean.

Cloud turned to me. "Well now you're added to the group of people I care about." He grinned, his perfectly white and straight teeth showing. He was as beautiful as his mother. And she was really lucky to have a son like him.

"You still want to know why I only hire pretty people at work?"

Cloud nodded, his eyes widening.

"Let's sit down," I told him, and he led me to a the room full of couches. I started to sit on one, but he stopped me.

"I suggest you _don't_ sit on that one for now."

I nodded and looked at it, noticing something dry and crusty on it. I didn't ask what it was, but I had a feeling I knew.

I sighed. He was the first person I would ever tell about this. Not even Rufus knows. Not even my family knows. Just him. Because he was special. I felt connected to him somehow.

"It's a long story," I warned.

Cloud smiled. "So you gonna start?"

I took a deep breath.

"I came from a very wealthy family. And a stuck-up one too. I was an only child at the time. My father had many wives over the years. He slipped up on one of them and had me. He didn't want any children. It slowed him down on his progress to even bigger success. And so he hated me. He would avoid me as much as possible, and tell lies to his wife, causing her to hate me too. Constantly, people would compliment our family and say how we were all so beautiful, _especially_ the son. It made him jealous of me, and he hated me even more. I was under constant pressure to be the best, never settle for less. I never had any friends, or pets. I was alone almost 24/7, seeing as how my father was always out. I was underage though, and couldn't stay alone at night. And so he hired a nanny.

"The nanny was a thief though. Once a pattern of missing jewelry and artwork was connected to her, she was fired, and they never trusted a commoner in the house again. The only person that was constantly available was my retired yet rich uncle. I didn't know him. He didn't know me. But he watched me. And I listened to him. After all, he was the only person who took care of me in a big, empty mansion.

"I was tutored privately, and I had a different tutor for each subject. I learned to play many instruments, and I was well-advanced with handling money. I was always reminded of how beautiful I was, and that I should use that to my extent. It got old after a while, and I disregarded it. I never cared about how beautiful I was at the time. Regardless of the compliments my father got about me, he still hated me. And every time someone told him how handsome I was, he would get angry.

"When I was a preteen, I came to realize I was different from the rest of the family. My parents would always bring home different female ares of rich people, showing me my options to marry when I grew up. But I wasn't interested in the slightest way in any of them. I never was. One day he brought home a boy about my age, comparing his successes to mine, and he noticed my sudden interest in him, regardless of my attempt to hide it. I didn't know what I was going through myself. I just knew I was different. My father later pulled me in, and told me I was gay. No hesitations. Just blunt. He told me he didn't care, as long as I kept my success as my main goal. I listened to him and accepted the newly found fact that I was gay.

"That's when my uncle started to treat me differently. He would give me nasty looks and make it his aim to make me feel stupid and useless. He would walk around naked and ridicule me about it, claiming that I was attracted to him and I wanted to do 'dirty things' to him. I was deeply hurting inside, and I felt like an outcast. But after all those years spent learning how to say only 'yes' and 'no' without adding any opinions, I learned how to keep emotions to myself. And almost 24/7, I had a poker face. So I never showed any of my pain. I simply ignored him.

"But my uncle started to get more aggressive and invasive as the years went by. He would sit in the bathroom and watch me take a bath, sometimes forcefully jumping in washing my body himself. I would come to my bed at night only to see a bunch of gay magazines staring at me. He would take my underwear and towels away and force me t walk around the house naked to find them, staring at me the entire time I did it. When I did my homework, he would touch me in places that shouldn't be touched. My parents knew what was going on. They just decided to ignore it, since they had no one else to watch over me. Seeing this not only made them hate me, I started to hate them back.

"Finally one day I had some free time, and I was reading. My uncle came to me, a knife in his pocket, and he sat next to me. I can remember that evil grin on his face, how he knew what he was doing. He forced himself on me, kissing me and touching me. No matter how much I tried to push him away, he was much stronger than me. When my uncle was starting to go too far, I finally gave my input, something I have never done. 'Stop it,' I had said. But he ignored me. 'You stop it," I continued, pushing harder and harder for him to get off. 'This is disgusting and I don't like you! Get off me now!' I had finally shouted, and he pulled away, shocked at the tone I had. I was shocked myself. Never have I done that in my life at the time. Like I said, I only gave firm 'yeses' and 'nos' with a straight face, never have I screamed a personal feeling of mine.

"This caused my uncle to snap. He kept commenting how I think I'm too good for him, how I'm too good for everyone. Hearing himself reason made him angrier and angrier. He scared me, and for once I showed it on my face, my fear, my feeling that he was going to do something that would traumatize me for the rest of my life. He yanked my clothes off and tried dragging me to the couch, I held on to everything I could, knocking expensive glass statues and family paintings. I screamed for help, but the mansion was big and it only had the two of us. No one heard me. I was on my own.

"He pulled out his... his penis, and he jabbed it in me. It hurt a hell of a lot, seeing how nothing ever went in there before. He would put it in my mouth and force me to swallow, that salty nastiness. He punched me in my face, causing me to fall over. In a last attempt to get away from him, I crawled to a corner, pain filling me everywhere. 'Please... stop," I had managed to speak. He laughed evilly while watching me crawl, and then he kicked me. I would always get up, and he kept kicking me until I stopped getting up. He rolled me over and screamed in my face, telling me how he would make sure that I couldn't think I was better than everyone anymore. And he just pulled out a knife and blindly scraped it across my face. Because i moved my face, it ended up only cutting across my nose. I remember screaming in agony, clutching my face. 'What did you do to me?!' I remember screaming. He just laughed. 'Ugly you are and ugly you will be for the rest of your life.' That's what he told me.

"I hid myself in my room for days, scared to show my face to anyone. I had a black eye, a swollen lip, scratches from the broken glass on my legs, and a cut across my nose. Before I never cared about my beauty that everyone loved to tell me I had. But after that event, that was all I worried about. I would constantly stare in the mirror and cry, realizing I would never look the same. My parents stopped bringing me in public to their business conventions. My father refused to give me eye contact on those very few times he actually came home. My mother was repulsed at my presence. They knew everything that happened. But they didn't care. They didn't say a word either and they threatened me not to say anything as well.

"After a couple of weeks the bruises and scabs finally healed, and my face got its original complexion back. But my nose never healed. It was ugly. My tutors never complimented on my looks anymore. My parents never got any either. I was no longer 'perfect.' I was flawed.

"I started to hate mirrors over the years, to the point where I couldn't even look at one anymore. I always feared at what would look back at me. I hated myself. I longed for the old comments on how beautiful I was. the ones I used to not even care about. I learned to accept who I was. As I grew up, I met a man who I got along with well. You met him. His name's Rufus Shinra. He was from a wealthy family as well. We both had the same ambitions: to own a computer tech business and become successful. I didn't love him, and he didn't love me, but we clicked very well. And so we got married. I was hoping I would later fall in love with him and vice versa, but we didn't. And it was starting to not work out.

"His hours would interfere with mine. We would never see each other. There would be nights where one of us came home but the other didn't. We would argue a lot. So we decided to end the relationship. He moved out, and I was alone again. The good thing about having Rufus around is that he helped me forget about my past pains, and he would always disregard my scar on my face. When he was gone, it forced me to remember it, and sometimes I couldn't help but wonder if it was my scar that made us separate. It's an inner weakness of mine I get touchy about. People may see it as stupid. But I see it as a flashing sign on my face that prevents me from moving on from the past. I'm always forced to remember it.

"After that, I fired all of the people I personally believed weren't as physically blessed as other workers. People with ugly flaws were fired too, like fat people, wrinkles and acne. Everyone was forced to succumb to a strict rule and keep up their beauty. I put the retirement age at an immense drop, going from 65 to 45. When I saw a person that was significantly less attractive than the rest, or even a pretty person with a defined flaw that lowered their attractiveness, it instantly reminded me of myself, and I hated that feeling. I noticed myself becoming stricter and moodier, disregarding people's feelings and just doing everything I wanted, kind of like my father. I hated who I was becoming, but I couldn't stop it. But then you came and..."

Cloud continued to gaze at me, waiting for me to finish.

I sighed. "You changed things."

Cloud nodded and bit his bottom lip. "I'm so sorry. Here I was moping about my shit-headed dad, and here you are with a much worse past than mine."

I shook my head and lightly smiled. "It's fine, Cloud. The past is the past. I just have to learn to move on."

"If it means anything to you, I think you're beautiful."

I stopped and stared at him, trying to contemplate on the words he just told me. "Please don't give me any sympathy words. It hurts more than just not saying anything at all."

"No, I mean it." He got up and walked over to me, sitting next to me and leaning on me. "I think you're beautiful. I actually had a crush on you for a while."

For a while. Meaning, he's over it now. But the fact that he called me beautiful had me. I looked down at him. "What happened to that crush now?"

"I don't know. I stopped calling it a crush because I realized it's something much deeper now." He looked up at me, creating eye contact between us, and smiled. His smile warmed my insides. Cloud was undefinable. I couldn't find a good word to describe him, but I just knew that I needed him in my life.

We both stared at each other, and then Cloud got up. "I should really, uhh... fix that wound on your arm."

"It's not a wound. The bullet barely skinned me-"

"Barely skinning doesn't make someone bleed."

"It didn't even hurt. It's fine."

"Is everything fine to you?"

"Cloud, all it needs really is a Band-Aid."

"Yeah, because Band-Aids fix everything. They even fixed my herpes," Cloud droned sarcastically. I was learning to get accustomed to Cloud's dry humor. It was a part of him. He used it for everything. As a weapon, to make a sad person happy, even to comfort himself when he was doubting the world. So I just have to accept that that's how Cloud is.

"Herpes? Sheesh. That's bad. But my so-called 'wound' isn't. A bullet skinning skin is a scrape. Herpes is an infection."

"Well as long as we have our trusty Band-Aids, an infection doesn't seem that bad either, does it?" Cloud asked me. Then we both laughed. That was our first mini fight. And I didn't mind it.

"Alright, fine. I'll let you treat my arm. But don't strain yourself."

I should've known Cloud would strain himself. After thoroughly searching the place for some gauze, alcohol, and disinfecting ointment, he took his precious time treating it. I didn't mind though. We both talked together as well as shared some laughs. We got to know each other even better than we did before. I felt even closer to him. I didn't want this night(more like early morning) to end.

"And...there," Cloud stated, closing up the gauze on my arm and lightly patting it. "Take it easy on that arm or else it'll reopen."

"This gauze?"

"That wound." He looked me and smiled. "You know you're really strong, right?"

I looked to at him in confusion. "How?"

He pointed to my arms. "Your arms are so... big and buff. You weren't even flexing and it was swollen with muscle." Cloud looked down, blushing. "I wish I had that kind of muscle. Makes me wonder what's under your shirt too." He widened his eyes as his whole face tinged rose. "That wasn't meant to be said out loud."

I laughed. "Thank you. You don't need muscles anyway. If you weren't so delicate and short like you are now, how would you pull off your cuteness?"

He rolled his eyes and pouted. He looked so adorable when he did that to his lips. His pink, full, moist, kissable lips.

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "So how do you know how to treat this 'wound' so good?"

Cloud tilted his head to the side. "You didn't know? I went to college to major in medicine. I wanted to be a doctor."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Really? You still studying?"

He shook his head, his smile still there but his eyes filling with sadness. "I couldn't stay. My mom couldn't afford to pay for it much longer. And then my mom had to get a kidney transplant... it was too much money. I didn't want to cause that much burden on her. So I took my savings and spent it on her kidney. Then I just took on waiting tables to pay for my bills. Well, until now."

"And the college?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I gave it up. I can always go back to that." He looked down, his eyes filling with happiness again. "I'm just happy my mom is alive and healthy. I don't know what I'd do without her. Without Zack either. Without..." he looked back up at me and smiled wider. "Without you."

I smiled along with him. He gave up his future and waited tables in exchange for his mother's life. He'd rather have family than success. I didn't even know my family's whereabouts to this day.

"Cloud," I mumbled.

"Hmm?" he replied.

I got up, walked over to him, and kissed him. Not a lustful kiss like at the office. But a sweet one. An appreciative one. One that would give him the message that I wouldn't know what to do if he wasn't in my life either. He made me feel whole. Like I had meaning in life. Like I was beautiful.

We made a sucking sound as we parted. I looked down at our hands. I didn't even realize we were holding each other's. I looked back up at him and he was smiling. "You're different from the rest of the people I've met in my life. It's insanely hard to get you out of my mind, no matter how hard I try."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Is that a good thing?"

I laughed. "That's a good thing. That means I won't forget about you, no matter how far you push me away one day."

Cloud rolled his eyes, and then he sighed and really pulled away from me, letting go of my hands. "I'm afraid I gotta kick you out," he said with a coy grin.

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"It's getting late, and I got work tomorrow. My boss might be angry, you know?" he reminded me, and he winked.

I grinned. "Alright, guess I spent up all my hospitality." I lightly kissed Cloud's forehead. "Please stay safe."

He nodded. "I promise. No more late-night journeys alone."

I waved and I stepped out of the apartment, closing the door behind me. As I was walking, Cloud opened his window and called out to me. I looked up at him and gave him my attention. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything! For saving me. For being here with me...everything."

I nodded. "Anytime."

Suddenly he threw something at me. I looked down and picked it up, further analyzing it. It was a Trojan condom. I widened my eyes and looked up at him. He was biting his bottom lip in a coy, flirty way. He winked and then he closed his window, and I saw the lights turn off, basically meaning there were no questions to be asked. I looked back down at the condom, still in shock. What was he trying to tell me?

_Well what else does a condom say? He wants to fuck!_

_No he doesn't. He's just showing how deep his feelings are about you, Leon. He really likes you._

_Oh come on! It's obvious the man lusts for you. He wants. The D. _

_This condom is a token showing that he officially removed all the barriers in your relationship. He just DTR'd. _

_What the fuck is that?_

_It's Define The Relationship. _

_Hey Leon. Cloud wants to be your boyfrien. And don't worry about the D. That comes later, along with this condom in your hand!_

_Leon, go to sleep. _

And the voices left my head. I sighed an ran my hand down my face. Why was Cloud so complicated?

I then lightly smiled to myself. If he wasn't complicated, he wouldn't be as interesting.

I just shook my head, laughing, and went on my motorcycle, heading home.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Now that all the character introductions and bios are done, the story really starts to kick in. I just had to build the whole thing up so you can see the tension and deepness of the love between Leon and Cloud, why it's so important to the both of them. **

**And hopefully, I managed to set up those teams that us fan girls like to have. **

**You know, a Team Leon and a Team Sephiroth. **

**But according to my alarming amount of PMs about this story, a lot of you want to chop off Sephiroth's dick. Which is not what I exactly intended for you guys to feel, but what the hell. You're entitled to your opinions, so continue with your nonsensical fuckery! **

**And thank you to all the reviews and PMs. I really do acknowledge them, and it makes me smile to see people desperate for me to update. It makes me feel wanted and that my stories are actually somewhat decent. **

**And also, I finally managed to call some computer guy to fix my Microsoft adapter thingie. You should no longer see update problems with two chapters being the same. If you do, call a sistah over. I'll beat that man's ass for making me pay $75 for this new hard drive thingie only for it to suck ass. **

**Shout out to my main, robotmonkey for being there all the way and using my rainbows and dick-flowers as a comfort tool! I love ya to death! And I also love all you for sticking with me this far! Many kisses and hugs. 3**

**Welp, I wish everyone that read this little note and didn't SCROLL OVER IT a dozen boxes of rainbows and dick-flowers. :3**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud **

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I groaned. Damn it! It's that moment when your alarm rings that makes you truly regret staying up until four in the morning. The thought made me smile. But it was worth it. I wonder if he understood what I meant about the condom. I wasn't trying to come off as slutty or anything. I just wanted to know that I was ready for whatever sexual challenge he threw at me in work. If he misinterpreted it in a different way, oh well. A condom is a condom. He'll still get the gist.

But, do we even need a condom if he get it like that? If he has an STD then of course, but... we're both guys so...

Hmm. Whatever.

I was ready a little early so I ended up watching TV while packing some lunch. I couldn't really afford to buy anything at the food court today, seeing as how I was saving up for a condo and had just spent the rest of my free money on my bills. I sighed. It's gonna be a while until I get to leave this shithole.

_"Dominic... please don't leave me. I thought you loved me."_

_"I do, Christian. But that is why I must go."_

_"Why? I love you!"_

_"The town, the Christian town, they will not allow of this forbidden love. I do not want to get you killed, Christian."_

_"But Dominic-"_

_"Please. Don't follow me! I love you too much."_

_Dominic ran toward Christian and gave him a big wet and long one on the lips. _

I huffed. "Fuck that!" I shouted to the TV. "It's your love, who fucking cares about society?"

My watch beeped. Aww. Time to go.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

I said my hellos to my best friend Aqua. She had asked me why I was so giddy. I asked her how was I so giddy. And she just said something about my presence. Hmm. I wonder what's making me so giddy too. I mean, I haven't cracked not one sarcastic comment to myself yet.

As I was walking to my office, a man suddenly pulled me into a dark hidden corner. When I noticed the red hair and green eyes, I knew who it was.

"Axel. Next time, just tap me on the shoulder or something, you know?"

He ignored my suggestion and continued. "Listen, mate, it's about Zack. Lately we've been acting really close, even flirting with each other and all that other schmuck . We even kissed a few times, regardless of the reasons. But... ah don't know how he really feels about me. And ah want to tell him how ah feel, but I'm scared of what he'll do or say once he knows. I'd rather have him as the way we are now than not have him at all, yea? What do ah do?"

I gulped. His situation sounded a lot like mine. What are we suppose to do?

I took a deep breath. "For now, play it safe. Continue on with what you're doing now. Then, when you feel like your relationship is at an all-time peak, tell him how you feel."

Axel nodded. "That sounds good, yea?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. His little words start to get to go. Every time I talk to him, I always half expect to hear "mate" or "yea" in it. And I always do. It was cute though. I was starting to warm up to his dialect. And he was starting to feel more comfortable speaking it.

Axel sheepishly smiled. "Well I'll uhh... leave you to your work now."

I nodded and smile. "You do that."

And he stepped out of the corner and headed to his favorite room in the building: Leon's.

Speaking of Leon, our very first sexual orientation is today after lunch. I gulped. I was so scared. What if I don't do it right? What if I turn him off? What if I go to far? I can't screw this up. Plus, I need to find out how he truly feels about me. My feelings about him are immensely confusing. I'm not sure if I love him, but I definitely like him. Every time I hear his name or think of him or see him, my heart skips a few beats.

I bit my bottom lip. You'd think your hormones would calm down when you're whopping 27 years old.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

It was 1:00. I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, opening Leon's door. He was sitting there, doing paperwork, while Axel was playing on a PSP, his face telling you that he's way dispersed into it and left reality a while ago.

Leon looked up at me and smiled. "Cloud. Nice to see you."

"Same here. Your arm doing okay?"

He smiled. "It's fine, thank you. Limited movement like you said. So I'm forced to do only paperwork." He sighed.

I bit my bottom lip. "I hope that limited movement doesn't slow you down today."

"Oh I-" He looked up at my face and realized I wasn't talking in the context of work. His ears tinged a light pink and he turned to Axel. "Uhh, Axel. Here. Take this paperwork and go make 150 copies of each sheet. Then distribute them all to each and every member of the Network and Banking sector, okay?"

Axel paused his game and looked at Leon like he grew devil horns. "You're funny, yea?"

"Axel..." Leon groaned.

Axel sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alroight, alroight, I will. You can drop the pitchfork now." He winked at me and left the room, gently shutting the door behind him. I smiled. That Axel.

Leon sighed. "Sorry for him. He can be-"

"Oh he's cool."

Leon raised his eyebrows. "You two are friends now?"

I nodded. "He's really funny, and he can be nice when he wants to. He just like to bring it out a lot. At least, not in public."

Leon slowly nodded, running a hand through his roughly rustled hair. His tie was put on incorrectly, a couple buttons weren't buttoned on his shirt, his suit was off, and his hair was all wrangled like someone played with it. I bit my bottom lip in arousal. Seeing him like this was actually hot. It gave a reminder that he was human.

"So what got you so rallied up this morning?" I asked him, looking him over.

He smiled. "Funny. Rough night and all, couldn't catch that much sleep, thinking about things." He looked up at me, his smile widening. "You want to tell me what that condom was about?"

I blinked, not knowing what he was talking about for a second. I was too busy staring at his sexy state at the current moment. I should keep him up in the morning more often so he can look like this. Something about seeing him relaxed and carefree-like turned me on.

Then I widened my eyes. Oh! That condom!

I gulped. "It was... a sign."

"A sign of what?"

I titled my head to the side and coyly smiled. "That I'm ready for anything you throw at me."

I grinned. "Oh really?"

I nodded.

He licked his lips, looking so irresistible when he did that. "So if I tell you to fuck me over, you would do it in a heartbeat?" he asked, his voice getting incredibly husky and sexy. He eyed me down, lingering at my lower part and smirking. I've never seen this side of him before, but I can safely tell you that I absolutely love it.

I closed my eyes, keeping my flirty smile. "Well not in a heartbeat, exactly. You'd have to work for it a little."

He leaned back in his chair, his legs wide open and his eyes gazing directly at me. "Like how?"

I got up. "Allow me to demonstrate."

I walked over to the back of him and put my hands of his two wonderfully built pecks. "You'd have to... break me down a little. Like a massage or something." I slowly ran my hands down his chest to his pelvis, feeling all the abs underneath. He raised an eyebrow, still smirking.

"Then you'd have to tease a little, get me turned on."

I dived into his pants, feeling around real quick and then coming back out. My fingers tiptoed over to the lump in his pants, and went to his inner thighs instead. I could hear Leon's heartbeat get quicker and his breathing heavier. I was doing a good job.

"And then you jump at the most vulnerable point."

My hands ran all the way back to his chin and turned it to my face. He stared at my lips, still smirking. My flirty smile turned into a seductive one, and I leaned in toward his lips. Naturally, he started leaning in to. But instead, I turned away, grinning. Leon just grabbed my waits and pulled me toward him, kissing my neck instead. I lightly giggled. "Stop it."

"I can't. You caught me at my vulnerable point." He winked and looked at me, smiling and grazing his lips over mine.

"There's something about you that gets me every time." I grinned and rested my forehead on his. "I can't put my finger on it. But whatever it is, I don't want it to stop."

His smile died and he looked into my eyes. "Cloud, there's something I have to tell you."

My smile died as well. "Is it bad?"

"No, it's... well, it might be surprising. But I just feel like you should know."

I nodded, my arms still around his neck while I was sitting in his lap. "Anything."

He took a deep breath. "Cloud... you should know... that I'm in lo-"

The door slammed open. Instantly I was dropped to the floor carelessly. I moaned in pain, rolling over onto my back. Leon suddenly put his foot on my stomach and help me there. I widened my eyes and furrowed my eyebrows, appalled at how he was treating me suddenly. What am I, a foot stool? That's not what you were saying when you trying to get in my pants two minutes ago, asshole.

"Yes?" Leon asked, his voice back to normal, his grammar back to its proper format.

Larxene walked forward. "The papers have been received. The department thanks you for getting it to them on time."

"Anytime. Now is that all?" Leon asked. I started to try to squirm out of his foothold, but he simply pushed harder. I wanted to groan, but I decided not to.

"Well, actually..." she sat herself down on the chair. My chair. The chair that Leon and I have done everything on. This was going to be a while.

"My doctor said my hormones are going to be acting crazy for a while, and I sense a break-out coming along. My ankles have been really swollen lately as well and I don't think I can wear these heels for a while. I was wondering if you can cut me some slack for-"

"Listen, Larxene. If I cut you some slack, everyone will want some slack as well. Are you getting the picture right now?"

Larxene sighed and looked at her swollen belly. "Yes, sir."

Leon peeked down at me, his face unreadable. I pursed my lips, doing my utmost to make sure he sees that I'm pissed. Leon looked back at Larxene. Then he opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper, writing something on it. When he finished, he handed it to Larxene.

Larxene took it and read it. "What is it?"

"It's a lease. I'm giving you six paid months off. Take it easy, okay? And congrats on your baby."

Larxene grinned in sheer joy. "Boss! I... I don't know what to say. I-"

"Then don't say anything." Leon gave a fake let's-finish-this-as-soon-as-possible smile.

Larxene rapidly nodded, still grinning from ear to ear. She stood up quickly. "Thank you so much, boss. I'll be sure to work even harder when I get back. I promise!" I smiled to myself. That was really sweet, what Leon did. Who knew he had a soft heart?

Larxene waddled to the door. She stopped and turned around. "And I don't mean to be prudent in your life but... there's this rumor that you and Mr. Strife have become awfully close to each other."

My heart sank in fear.

Leon kept his cool. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that people are saying that you two are hooking up. Speaking of, Mr. Strife's whereabouts are currently unknown."

Leon flashed a fake smile. "My love life and who I decide to share it with is nobody's business. The next time you hear that being spread around be sure to nip it in the bud. It's not true, and that will never change."

_That will never change._ My heart sank even deeper. But not in fear this time. But in mortification. I suddenly felt stupid and gullible, the same way I felt when Sephiroth dumped me.

Larxene nodded once, and left the room.

Leon quickly looked down at me, taking his foot off right away. "I am deeply sorry for that inconvenience, Cloud! I could only imagine what it feels like to have a foot slammed down on your chest." He helped me up.

I clutched my back, stretching it out. "Oh no, it's fine. I've faced worse." I'm just fucking with you. No I haven't.

"Now I got your shirt dirty." He pointed to the brown footprint on my white shirt. I groaned. All my other shirts were dirty too. But of course, he didn't need to know that. That'll just tell him that I'm lazy and don't wash my clothes very often.

"I'll just, uhh... wash it."

Leon gave me a strange look, his blue eyes piercing through mine. It made me look down nervously. This was awkward.

"You okay? Once again, I'm really sorry-"

"It's fine." I started to walk towards the door, but he called my name once my hand was on the doorknob. I didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"I know I ruined it. Our moment. I just... I'm scared of the reaction of the public once they know-"

"What?" I asked, turning around. "Are you embarrassed of me? Is it humiliating to like someone a much lower class than you? Or maybe it's because I'm not like Rufus. I'm not rich. I'm not famous. I'm not insanely intelligent. I'm not incredibly handsome and charming. I'm just a short blondie who's trying to save up to move out of a crappy complex and actually make a living. But I guess those standards are too low for you." I know it was mean of me to snap at him like this, but it kind of annoyed me.

"Cloud, it's not like that. It's just that... love in the workplace is usually looked down upon."

"But Rufus is the exception, right?"

Leon put his hand on his forehead. "What does Rufus have to do with all of this? Why do you keep bringing him up?"

"Because it doesn't make sense!"

Leon gave me a confused look. "I'm just trying to protect your reputation-"

"You think I care about what people think of me? You think I wasn't picked on at school for being that gay guy that caused his parents to separate? That awkward, overly-sarcastic, short boy who just wanted to feel wanted? And for once, I actually did feel wanted. Until you start hiding me under your desk with a shoe on my chest!"

"Cloud, I-"

"You're embarrassed, Leon. I get it. The thought of you and me being a couple... it seems like a downgrade to society after your last relationship was with someone so much better than me."

"He isn't better than you."

"It's okay, Leon! You don't have to-"

"I love you."

"...what?" I asked, utterly confused. Did he... did he just blatantly use three _heavy_ words that shouldn't just be thrown around for the hell of it? Did he just _claim_ that he loves me?! The thought of him lying just to keep me on his dick made me angry. He was playing with my heart. Too many times have I been played with and hurt as a result. And I _won't_ take that anymore.

He walked closer to me, taking my hands. "Cloud, what I was trying to say earlier is that I love you. A lot. At first I thought it was just lust, but then, when I started to talk to you, to get to know you, to see the real side of you... I knew it was much more than that."

I narrowed my eyes. "How could you?"

He widened his eyes. "What?"

"How could you say something so deep on someone you only look at as a sex toy? You want me that badly that you're going to lie to me about something so serious, huh? What's wrong with you?! Don't you realize that some people take those words to heart?! Some people... like me..."

Leon shook his head. "I would never lie to you about that. Everything I said is true. I really do-"

"Let go of me!" I yanked my hands away from him, disgusted at his presence. To think I actually started to like this man, this... thing. I looked down, rapidly trying to blink back tears. I refuse to look like the weak one here. "Thank you for saving my life. I deeply appreciate that." I looked up at him, my eyes watery. "But I think our relationship should stay as worker and boss. It's best that way. Everyone's _reputation_ is safe."

He looked down. "You remember the deal, right? If you don't do my every command, I'll have to fire you."

I pursed my lips. "Well then I guess I'm jobless again."

He shook his head, reaching for me. I flinched away from him and barged through the door, not bothering to close it. I stormed down the hallway, ignoring his calls for me. How could I let him get to me? Let him use me? I don't know what I saw in him. He was a monster. He was the beast, but there was no beauty.

I slammed on the down sign next to the elevator over and over. I noticed Axel staring at me from the end of the hallway with eyes full of pity. I decided I wasn't in the talking mood right now and just crossed my arms, ignoring him.

_Hold your tears, Cloud,_ I told myself. _As soon as you're in the car, pour your feelings out. Until then, be strong. _

I sniffled and entered the elevator, pushing the 1 button.

_Lounge Floor added to destination points,_ the elevator said, and it started to descend. I raced through the lounge, slamming my ID card on the front desk, ignoring people's stares, and barged through the entrance doors. Blindly, I searched for the keys in my bag. Once I fished it out, I opened the car and stepped inside, bawling heavily as soon as the door shut.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Shout out to JollyBigSis for giving me a pat on the back for stepping up and fixing my computer. $75 was a lot. :'( And truth was, it was starting to annoy me too. **

**Another shoutout to WindWisp for her hilarious review! It really made me laugh out loud, literally. I love you. 3**

**And for some clarification from some PM's, Cloud is 27. Leon is 29. Sephiroth is 31. Zack is 27 and Axel is 23. Yes, big age difference between the two(4 years), but love has no age limit. 3**

**Unless, of course, one is 53 and the other is 11. That's...gonna be a problem. :S**

**But ignore my pointless jabber. **

**On with the story! :D**

**...**

**Okay, fine, I'll say what I usually say. Sheesh, just wanted some change. :/**

**Enjoy! :P**

* * *

**Leon**

_I stopped calling it a crush because I realized it's something much deeper now..._

_I don't know what I'd do without you..._

_Thank you for everything! For saving me, for being here with me..._

_"You want to tell me what the condom is about?" _

_He gulped. "It's a sign." _

_"A sign of what?"_

_He titled my head to the side and coyly smiled. "That I'm ready for anything you throw at me..."_

_There's something about you that gets me every time. I can't put my finger on it. But whatever it is, I don't want it to stop..._

_I think you're beautiful._

I groaned and sat up in bed, running my hand down my face. I took a glance at the time and groaned even more. It was only 2:30 in the morning. I couldn't sleep. And I couldn't get him out of my mind.

_He hates you, Leon. Why can't you see that?_

Yeah, and he hates me all because of my bad timing. I should've never told him I love him. It was the wrong time, which made him think I was just saying it as a last resort to make him stay. Now in anger I fired him, which means I probably won't see him ever again.

I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm letting the first person I've actually fell in love with, the first person that I absolutely enjoyed being around, the person that could make my day simply by smiling... slip out of my hand. And I don't think I can get a second chance.

I got up and walked over to the sink, washing my face out of sleepiness. I wanted to sleep, but I knew if I went back to bed, I would dream of him again, which wouldn't do well for my aching heart. The way Cloud had looked at me back at the office... it spelled hatred, disgust, a point of no return.

Cloud, even his name made me smile.

Too bad he wouldn't smile when he remembers me. If he remembers me.

I turned the sink off and stared at it, too ashamed to look at my reflection begging to be looked at from the mirror right in front of me. What if... what if my scar had something to do with it? What if Cloud became so repulsed by my hideousness that he couldn't take it no more? He'd rather be jobless than see my face again. Anyone would.

And instantly, that feeling of loneliness sank in again. The same feeling I had when I was a kid, alone in that big, empty mansion. It was the same. Me, alone, in this big, empty mansion.

Without thinking, I picked up my cell phone and called Cloud. I wasn't surprised when he didn't pick up. Not only did he not want to hear my retched voice ever again, but it was also really early in the morning. He had a long day. He was probably sleeping.

_Hey! So it's me, Cloud-_

_And his best buddy, Zack!_

_And Zack, _he laughed._ Obviously, I couldn't pick up the phone. But if you leave a message, I'll realize how important your call is to me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! And be sure to call me back sometime! Laters! _

*beep*

I sighed. "Hey Cloud? It's me, Leon. Can we talk? I feel like things blew over proportions. I don't think you really understood what I was trying to say. If you can call me back, that would be amazing. Or even better, just stop by my house or something. Maybe we can even discuss your job. Just... talk to me. Please." And I hung up.

This was going to be a long day. Not only did I need to find a temporary fill-in for Larxene, I had to reopen job applications for Cloud's spot.

I winced at his name. It brought so much pain.

I know it was a short-time span that I knew him(only a couple of months). But I knew what I was feeling and I knew it was so much more than lust. It was a need. I _did_ love Cloud. I still do. I just really hope he can believe me. I wonder why it was so hard to believe I loved him though. It's like he's been broken-hearted too many times and he didn't want to fall for it again, especially from a guy like me.

If so, I just want to be the guy who gets to fix it. Stitch it up and assist in the recovery process. Who knows? It might even become a healthier heart.

But that can only happen if he decides to talk to me again. I bet you he blocked my number or turned off his phone or something. I don't blame him. Maybe I did move a little too fast. I just couldn't contain my feelings anymore.

I sighed and dragged myself back to bed, attempting to get as much sleep left as I can.

_I think you're beautiful._

My eyes snapped open.

Damn it.

* * *

**Cloud **

_"...Or even better, just stop by my house or something. Maybe we can even discuss your job. Just... talk to me. Please." _

*click*

_No new messages. _

I sighed and carelessly threw the phone next to me on my couch. I hate life.

I was so depressed that I was watching late-night reruns of Titanic. As much as I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio was one sexy motherfucker, I despised the movie with a fiery passion. Don't ask me why. Something about bout movies pissed me off. Especially when they sink. Maybe it's because the movie is so depressing and unrealistic. They act like love is easily attainable and can work no matter the challenges. Lie.

It's all a lie. And so was the cake.

My phone suddenly dinged. A text? At three in the morning?

I really should be sleeping, but now that I'm jobless, I don't have to wake up early anymore, so fuck that.

I checked my phone. It was from Sephiroth.

An instant flashback of him ditching me for those rapists stung my insides, and I pursed my lips, pondering if I should even read the thing.

_Who knows? What if it's all a misunderstanding? Just read the damn thing. No one said you had to reply. _

I had nothing better to do anyway. Sighing, I opened the text and read it.

_I heard what happened, babe! I'm really sorry. Wish I could've done something to help. Maybe I can make it up to you. 3_

For some reason, after all the crap I've took from him, his text still made me smile. Didn't that mean he was thinking about me? It takes time to type out a text. I don't know what it is about Sephiroth that made him hard to get over. Maybe it's the fact that he was my first love and how he took my V card. Regardless, I still felt betrayed from him.

_Done something to help? Maybe if you stayed at helped me out at that empty warehouse the other night you might've made things better. But for now, there's nothing you can possibly do to make things better,_ I typed out and hit send.

He replied right away. _What are you talking about, baby? I didn't even know where you are! I was scared to death about you. I even called the cops. Hope you feel better. That must have been scary. If you want, you can meet me tomorrow night at my house and I can make it worth your while. Love you._

I paused at the words "love you." Was this word suddenly losing value? Why was it being thrown around everywhere like it was useless? It was a word full of deep meaning that can't be taken lightly. But did he really love me? He always tells me that, so why was I doubting him now? Plus, didn't Leon- I mean Squall say he called the cops? Did Squall lie to me?!

I hate liars.

I sighed. Squall... as much as I hated to admit it, my feelings were gradually growing for him. Until he ruined it with his blatant lie to me. I pursed my lips. And to think I let him kiss me. And blow me. And ride on his motorcycle. And see his amazing smile...

There was a knock on the door. I groaned. "I don't wanna talk to anybody!"

"It's me, Zack!" he called.

"Go away!" I shouted.

"Spiky... come on! We just wanna talk!"

"We?" I asked to myself, eyeing the door warily.

"Axel's here too!"

"Come on, mate! It's only us!" Axel joined.

I screamed in annoyance and covered my head with a pillow. "I said to go away!" I yelled with my muffled voice. I soon heard sounds of a key opening a door. Before I knew it, my front door opened, and they came with smiles and a lot of comfort food.

Huh. They know me too well.

"Damn it... I forgot I gave you the house key," I mumbled to Zack. He laughed and sat next to me. I threw my pillow at him. "What don't you get about how I don't want to talk to anybody?"

"I know what happened, laddie. It didn't sound good. We just wanna help, yea?" Axel informed. He had a genuine smile on his face, and I can say that he truly looked stunning when he smiled for real. He should do that more often.

Zack took a glance at the TV screen. "Titanic? Man, you're suffering."

I narrowed my eyes and eyed the both of them. "You got two minutes to tell me what you got or you're out."

They both held up their items. "Some ice cream, chocolate, and a hell of a lot of alcohol?"

I slowly nodded.

_A Little While Later..._

I laughed in Axel's lap. "Your hair reminds me of a cherry. You should die it again so it can remind me of strawberries. Only I hate strawberries. Maybe watermelon. But that's green. Wait, what?" I shook my head and laughed again.

Zack laughed. "As you can see Axel, Cloud is the more ditsy type when he gets drunk. But relax, he's totally controllable and eventually snaps into his senses."

Axel smiled and nodded. "Ah gotcha."

My phone dinged. I kicked my feet in the air. "You hear that? A buzz! A ding! Ding dong! The witch is dead! No-wait-Ah fuck, she gave him head. 1, 2, 3, STD's, now the witch died happily. Haha! Damn you, horny witch bastard!" I raised my fist in the air in gratitude. Fuck that wretched witch.

Zack took my phone and looked at it, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh no! Zack looks angry. Boohoo." I turned to Axel and ran my finger down his nose to his chin. "Hey. Would you fuck me? I wanna...fuck...shit. I forgot." I giggled.

Zack turned to me. "Cloud, why are you still contacting Sephiroth?"

Axel gave him a face of confusion. "Who is that?"

"Some stripper down at that gay strip joint who Cloud fell in love with and gave his V card to. Only, Cloud can't see how he's a douche and his only interest in you is getting laid by a pretty and innocent boy."

I pointed to Zack, trying to steady my vision. "Fuck you! I'm not a boy. I'm a...dick-flower. Shit..." I slurred. I giggled again. What was I going to say?

Zack hopped up on me and grabbed my shirt's collar, shaking me. "Cloud, wake up for a second! Can't you see he's a player? The only reason he always runs back to you is because you're the most gullible! Chances are he runs back to a lot of other guys too that are just like you!"

I blinked over and over. "You made my head hurt."

"Cloud!" Zack screamed.

"Where? In the sky?" I asked, looking up at the ceiling. I frowned. My ceiling is gray and only looks like a thunderstorm is coming. Boohoo. I missed it. Axel suppressed a laugh.

"Axel, get me some cold water from the sink."

He nodded and slid himself off of me. Cold water to drink? Does it have liquor in it? Whoa... my vision suddenly went fuzzy.

Before I knew it, cold water came splashing down my face. I screamed and rolled over onto the floor, drenched with water and freezing cold. My vision snapped back to normal, and I quickly looked around, observing my surroundings. "What... what's going on?"I asked, slightly slurring some words.

"Cloud, I've been meaning to tell you this, but I didn't have the guts to. But now I do, especially since you're setting yourself up for another heartbreak. Sephiroth is cheating on you. And not with one person. He's cheating on you with a hell of a lot of people. He's just using you because you're really attractive and you're great in bed. Something like that," Zack informed, feeling a bit awkward about the last part.

I kept on blinking. "What are you talking about? He even said he loves-"

"He's said that to a lot of people. Cloud, don't meet him up tomorrow! He's a piece of shit that's worth nothing to you! If you don't believe me, then surprise him. Instead of seeing him tomorrow, see him today when he's not expecting you. See what you find. See if he's not a lying man-whore that only wants sex."

My head started to feel like it was going back to normal. I looked down. For some reason, I just couldn't see Sephiroth as doing that. After all those things he told me, the gifts he's given me, the places he's taken me, the things we've gone through together, I couldn't bring myself to think that he was that kind of person.

A tear formed in my eye. "It seems like everyone is against me lately."

Axel's eyes spat out sorrow. "It's not like that, Cloud. Ah know where you're coming from, and it's def not a good feeling, there. But just know that we care about you. A lot. A hell of a lot." He gave me a friendly smile. Zack nodded in agreement. I suddenly wanted to see my mommy again. But she was in a different county, and I didn't have time for that.

"I don't believe you," I muttered.

"What?" Zack asked, leaning in so he could hear better.

"I don't believe you!" I shouted. "I...I have to see it for myself. I know Sephiroth can be.. a little weird sometimes, but I know he's not like that!"

"Weren't you the one who said he left you for dead at that storage warehouse?" Zack asked.

I shook my head. "I was wrong about him. He wasn't even there. I must've been hallucinating. He even called the cops. He cares, Zack."

"I actually think that Squall guy is better for you. You seemed much happier when he was around rather than Sephiroth."

I widened my eyes. Squall. My heart suddenly started to twist in pain again. You have no idea how much willpower it took for me to ignore my wishes to call him up and apologize for freaking out on him. I just wanted to be in his touch again. To see his smile.

"Well no one asked for your _fucking_ opinion, Zack!" I screamed, picking up a nearby pillow and throwing it at him again.

"Mate, you're acting like a PMSing teenage girl on drugs. He's just trying to help you out here," Axel comforted.

"No. Leave him," Zack spat, giving me an angry look. "The man says that I'm a liar. Leave him be. He doesn't need us here. It's his problem that he keeps putting his heart out for use without any care of what might happen to it. But when your heart gets broken _yet again_, don't come crying back to me!" He marched towards the door. "Come on, Axel. Let's go."

Axel sighed in sadness. "They say love can blind people. That's why Cupid is always drawn blind. But if only you could see what we can, maybe your life would be different. See ya later, Cloud." And he followed Zack out the door, closing it behind him.

I looked around the room, noticing the empty wine bottles and food wrappers. My eyes lingered over to the picture of Zack and I with the "Best Friends" frame. A tear fell down my eye. This was really getting to me. Not only did I lose Squall, but I lost Zack and Axel as well. All I have left is Sephiroth. What choice is there?

I deserved it though. I became too sensitive after being hurt too many times. Zack was right. I put myself out there way too much. I was...

I was clingy.

* * *

**Leon**

I sighed, quickly glancing over at this man's resume. It was mediocre, and I could sense some deficiencies in some statements of his. He claimed he was experienced in the workplace, yet the man wasn't smart enough to wear a suit to a business interview?

"Why are you here?" I asked, my voice screaming annoyance. After 30 failed interviews, it started to get to you. But what can I say? No one can replace Cloud. Truth was, I wasn't looking for a perfect person that can run spreadsheets well. I was looking for a slightly clumsy, cute, inexperienced guy with an amazing smile that I had to constantly give my attention to before the person destroyed the place.

_"Why are you here?" I had asked Cloud._

_"I have a-"_

_"No," I said, holding my hand up. Still no eye contact by the way. "Why..." I started, leaning back in my chair. "...are you here?"_

_"Well, uh... I'm here to get a job here, sir. So I can earn a living, and be able to supply my needs," Cloud had answered slowly. "Isn't that why everybody wants a job?"_

I smiled to myself. He was so adorable. I've never had an interview quite like him.

"Uhh... sir?" the man asked me, noticing my unusual smile out of nowhere. I cleared my throat and regained my composure. "Yes, well... I'm afraid you're not what I'm looking for. Thank you for your time."

The man gave me a look of disgust and left the room. I groaned, rubbing my hand on my forehead. You're ruining my life, Cloud. If I haven't met you, maybe my life would be the same. A regular schedule full of busy business days and stuff that I expect, everything running on schedule.

_But wasn't it more exciting when everything was unexpected? Didn't Cloud make your life more enjoyable? Make you see what life truly has to offer?_

"Shut up," I muttered to myself.

"Send in the next," I groaned. "I need some aspirin."

A man short of stature with blonde hair and blue eyes along with a smile on his face walked in. He dropped his briefcase and crossed his legs, waiting for me to say something. Hmm. He's kind of cute.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"For a job," he mumbled. I widened my eyes. Could this be? Did God send me another version of Cloud to fix my loneliness.

I grinned. "How old are you?"

"Old enough to work here."

I sighed. "Any history in the business area?"

"Nope."

"Why should I hire you?"

"Because I really need this job and I heard you make a ton of cash here."

I raised my eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like a legitimate reason."

"Do I need one?" He grinned. I widened my eyes. In his mouth was a horrifying grill. It completely sank his attractiveness down to 0. He looked around. "You think I can smoke here?" My eyes widened even more. A smoker on top of it. He opened his briefcase and dug for a cigarette. On his wrist was a tail of something.

I pointed to it. "What is that?"

He grinned even more. Oh Lord, please stop grinning. "It's a dragon." And he lifted his arm only to reveal a gigantic red splotch he called a dragon on his arm.

"Yeah... this isn't going to work," I told him.

Nothing is.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Lol WindWisp you consistently make me laugh with your reviews, bro. I tried my complete best to not smile, but I did. xD**

**And JollyBigSis, you have NO IDEA how many other people feel the same way you do. Hopefully I solve your wants in this chappy. And I feel you for the Mac thing bro. It can really make you put a Band-Aid on your wallet. :P  
**

**Just wanted to mention that. I love you two! And all of you reading this! :3**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud **

I stared at the ceiling, contemplating on life in general.

_...See him today when he's not expecting you. See what you find. See if he's not a lying man-whore that only wants sex._

I sighed. "Silly Zack. Sephiroth _is_ a lying man-whore that only wants sex."

It only took a couple of hours on a bad hangover and a major case of loneliness on my bed to realize how horrible life was without Squall...Leon. I missed him a lot. I felt horrible for snapping at him yesterday. I just wanted to take everything back. Kiss him passionately. Tell him how I feel as well.

Tell him that...I love him.

I know what you're saying? How can you say it's love? So soon? You're basically contradicting your words you said to Leon.

I know. But I know what I'm feeling toward Leon is love. This feeling... I recognize it.

I only felt this way once in my life. When Sephiroth would ignore me for days, the state of depression I would get to, anxiety taking over me. Or when he would surprise me with some roses and a kiss, how my heart would melt and instantly forget all the pain he caused for me. How when he told me he loved me, I felt it inside. I felt like I never wanted to leave that man, and every time I did, life suddenly became a whole lot heavier. And when he broke up with me? If it wasn't for Zack, I would've been killed myself.

Zack... aw man do I have so much apologizing to do to him. I hope he can forgive me. I hope Leon can forgive me as well. Sheesh. I managed to screw up so many of my relationships in one day. And to think the only person left for me is Sephiroth.

I still don't know how to feel about him. Was Zack telling the truth? Was Sephiroth telling the truth? Was Leon serious when he confessed his love for me? I hugged myself and rolled over onto my side. I hope he was. Because I was actually planning to call up Leon and reveal how I feel as well.

Yea, that's right. Like a pissy two-year old bitch.

I looked at the clock. It was 9:43 at night. This was the time where Zack was on break. He usually spent his break at the Starbucks across from the strip joint he works at. He would hang there and drink his mocha for about 20 minutes before he left. If I left fast enough, I would have about ten minutes to explain myself. I gulped.

I ran towards the closet to look for a jacket. I looked at myself at my full-body mirror. I had on my PJ's, which was a big baggy jersey of a team I didn't even recognize myself. It was a present from my mom. I had it since I was 12. And it's still as baggy as it was then.

I bit my bottom lip. I looked like crap. But who cared? I was going for one reason and one reason only. I didn't have anyone to impress.

I grabbed the first jacket I saw, slipped on some sandals, and grabbed my keys, running out the front door and into the parking lot. I forgot to buckle my seat-belt and drove off quickly in search of my best friend.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

I ran into the Starbucks building and looked around for Zack. Sure enough, he was in his favorite corner, staring out through the window with an angry face. I smiled. I found him just on time.

"Excuse me, sir! But there's a no loitering rule here. Are you going to buy something or make your way out?" the cashier asked. I groaned and trudged over to him, looking for the cheapest thing on the menu. Zack noticed my presence and rolled his eyes, picking up his stuff and making his way out. I gasped. No no no no no... am I too late?

"Just... give me something!" I shouted at the cashier. He raised an eyebrow and handed me a coffee. I threw a $10 bill at him and ran out, trying to catch up to Zack.

"Zack, wait!" I called. He stopped and turned around, his face showing he was not amused. I flashed a weak smile. "You want my coffee?" He rolled his eyes and continued to walk again. I ran after him. Once I finally caught up to him, I put my hand on his shoulder. "Wait! Please, can we just talk?"

He stopped and sighed, checking his phone for the time. "You have two minutes."

"I'm incredibly sorry for what I said to you last night. You know I would never mean such a thing to you! You've been my best friend since I was nine. We go far, okay? Hopefully you can see through me and realize that my apology is completely and utterly true. I just really want you to-"

Zack pulled me into a very tight hug.

"Forgive me?" I squealed, my face turning red from the lack of air. Did he forget that he was a whopping 200 pounds and I was a measly 120?

"Apology long accepted, Spiky." He let me go and smiled.

Once I took a deep breath, I smiled along with him. "I'm really sorry-"

"Say no more. You were drunk. I know you weren't yourself. I was just being a little bitch. I'm the one who should apologize." We both laughed. And that is why we were able to make our friendship last for so long. We never held grudges against each other. And we realized we're only looking out for the other.

He looked me over. "You look like shit. But you work it somehow. Aren't those your pajamas?"

"Oh shut up," I replied. He laughed.

The sound of a bass beating thudded through the ground. I looked around. "You hear that?" I asked.

Zack raised an eyebrow and frowned, looking over at something. I followed his stare over to none other than Sephiroth's house. I forgot he lived in an odd spot in the corner of an intersection. And he never had curtains. His windows flashed a room with red lights and a bunch of dancing people in it. I widened my eyes. He never told me he was having a party.

"Hey Zack... did you know he was throwing a party?"

Zack shook his head. "You?"

"No..." I mumbled, anger starting to bubble inside of me. Is this why he told me to meet him tomorrow and not today? What was to hide? Who was exactly invited to this party that was so much better than me, his boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/friend-with-benefit? Sheesh, we really need to DTR.

Determine The Relationship, btw.

By The Way, fyi.

For Your Information, gootragfyifrdkta.

Get Out Of That Rock And Go Fuck Yourself If You Really Don't Know These Acronyms.

I pursed my lips. "As usual, Zack. You were right."

"About Sephiroth?" Zack huffed.

"I'm gonna go and investigate. You go back to your before I get you fired."

Zack grinned. "They wouldn't fire me. I bring in too many customers." He winked. As big-headed as that sounded, we both knew that it was true. I took a deep breath. Zack kissed my forehead. "Whatever happens, just know I got your back."

I nodded, and we split our ways.

I drove my car over to the side of the street near his house, seeing as how the driveway had no more space. I stepped out and gulped. Whatever happened, just know that you don't need him. You have Leon that'll hopefully take you back in his arms. Expect the worse, Cloud.

I rang the doorbell. I heard loud banging, and the door finally opened, but it wasn't Sephiroth who opened it. It was Seifer, that guy who was part of that unwilling threesome I had. Apparently he remembered this too, as he eyed me up and down, a smirk on his face. I wanted to slap him so badly.

"Well hello there, pretty boy. What brings you here? Wanted some more?" His breath smelled of beer and semen, a combination I wasn't interested in. He pointed to my lower portion of my body. "You wearing something under there this time?"

I decided to ignore his perverted comments. "Is Sephiroth here?"

"Well of course he is. Since when is the host not at his own party? I see you came extremely casually late."

"Excuse me," I mumbled, pushing through him. I didn't bother looking back to see his reaction. Instead, I looked around fervently for a sign of long, silver hair. I saw him at the party table, pouring himself some beer while bobbing to the music. I walked over to him, trying my best to squeeze through the grinding people blocking my way. "Sephiroth?" I yelled over the booming bass as I tapped on his shoulder.

He turned around, giving me a look mixed with confusion and anger. "The fuck? This is Larry."

Oh. Shit.

I gulped. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else." And I turned around quickly, searching the crowd again. Someone grabbed me and started dry-humping me from behind, trying to lift my jersey up.

"Hey sexy thing. What do ya say we go somewhere more quiet?"

I elbowed him on the balls and quickly walked away, leaving him waling on the floor. Where in the hell was Sephiroth?

A woman nudged me on the side and pointed at me, looking down at me due to her six-inch heels. Nevermind. Regardless of how high her heels were, people generally had to look down at me.

"Hey! I know you! You're Sephiroth's bitch that everyone talks about!" she shouted over the music.

I gulped. "Bitch?" I wouldn't call it that. Was that what he was telling everyone?

"Yeah! You looking for him, aren't you? I'm not surprised. A bitch needs to be around his master, right? He's upstairs!" She had a slight New Jersey accent, and her tan was obvious that it was fake and poorly put on.

I gritted my teeth. "Call me a bitch one more time, and I'll pop one of those bad boob jobs you got sitting there on your chest." She gave me a horrified look. "Think of it as a favor. It looks like shit."

"You look like shit!" she shouted, flipping her hair and walking away. I know bitch. I look like shit. But at least I'm aware of it.

I warily looked over at the stairs, where Sephiroth's fate lied in whatever I was about to see. I pushed through the crowd of drunk, dancing people and made my way up the stairs. I passed by a bathroom occupied by a man holding a girl's hair up while she puked her intestines out along with a line waiting outside. Then I reached Sephiroth's door, which was closed and had the sign "Occupied" attached to it. I pursed my lips.

Well I guess I'm special.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly turned the doorknob and peeked inside, only to see Sephiroth macking off with two guys looking like they just entered college. I gasped and pushed the door wide open. "Sephiroth?!" I cried.

"Can't you read the damn sign, you-" he stopped. Then he sheepishly smiled. "Hey...you! What are you doing here? I told you to come tomorrow."

I shook my head. "How long was this going on? Since we first dated?"

He got up and pushed the two boys away from him, walking to me. "Babe, it's not like that-"

"I don't know why I didn't see you for the man-whore you are. I hope you get herpes, you fucking _slut!_" I shouted, and I ran down the stairs, forcefully pushing through the crowd.

Sephiroth never followed.

I reached for the doorknob. Seifer stood in front of me.

"Get out of my way," I spat, giving him a dirty look.

He smirked. "No way. Not without a kiss to remind me how amazing those lips of yours are."

I huffed out a breath of air through my nose. "I said get _out_ of my _way_."

"Didn't you hear me? Did I hesitate?" Seifer asked again, stepping a step closer to me, breaking my personal space bubble. I pursed my lips and kneed him in the balls. Two times I had to do this tonight. No wonder Zack didn't take me to clubs.

Seifer waled in pain and fell toward the floor, clutching his dick. I spat on him and opened the door, stepping outside and starting to cry. Why am I so sad? Didn't I tell myself to expect the worse? Didn't I stop loving him a while ago? Oh I get it.

Nothing can stop the pain from realizing the one you loved never loved you back.

Poor Leon. I understood where he was coming from now.

_People do crazy things for love..._

I gulped. Now I truly felt alone in this world.

I started to walk over to my car, only to see two guys hot-wiring it. I gasped and started running towards them. "HEY!" I screamed. "STOP! THAT'S MY CAR!"

They snickered and ran inside my car, speeding off quickly. I slapped the sides of my hips in exasperation, whining. Suddenly the sound of thunder cracked through the sky. I looked up. A drop of rain hit my face. And then a million more came crashing down. I looked down, tears pouring down my face, mixing with the rain.

"Can my life get any worse?" I screamed into the night sky. Then I peered out onto the street. Leon's house isn't far off from here. He's a lot closer than my house, I think. I looked back and forth, south and north at the two pathways I could take. I really had to hurry up and choose before I catch an pneumonia from this heavy rain.

Heavy Rain. Ha.

I pursed my lips and started walking. It wasn't worth it. I just bit my bottom lip and kept walking, constantly blinking away the tears from eyes. They kept falling anyway.

* * *

I looked up at the mansion. It took up the whole street. His grass was very well kept. I managed to walk past the security gate without them noticing me. The place was huge. It made it even more intimidating up close versus when I pass by it on my way to work.

Trudging up the ginormous driveway, I banged my fist on the doorbell, breathing heavily. That was a longer walk than I expected. It was only a five-minute drive from Sephiroth's house. I don't know how it took 40 instead.

A man of skinny stature and perfect posture slowly opened the door, looking me up and down. "May I help you, sire?" he asked me. He had a British accent.

I gulped. "Is Squall Leonhart home?"

"...yes..." the man stated.

"May I speak with him?" I asked, still breathing heavily from the walk. He gave me a peculiar look. I know how this looked. Me, a man with a crappy baggy jersey, now drenched with water and freezingly clinging to my body, was asking for such a prestigious billionaire who was probably counting his cash he made this week on a bed covered in silk, dressed in porcelain.

"I'll be one moment," the man told me, and he shut the door. I patiently waited there, awkwardly looking around. The front door was huge, and there were four cameras directly pointed at me. I looked up at them nervously. I felt like one of them was going to shoot me with a laser or something. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. It's not too late to just turn around and make my way back home-

The door opened, Leon standing there in a snuggly fitting gray t-shirt and some baggy black sweats, bare-footed. Of course he would be barefoot. His floor was probably spotless with all the maids coming around and cleaning it.

It wasn't what I was expecting him to wear. I was actually thinking more on the lines of a red silky robe with a pooch in his right hand. Regardless, even with this extremely casual pajama he had on, he still looked amazing. And his abs were protruding from him shirt rapidly trying to conceal it.

Leon stared at me, looking me up and down.

I gave him a weak smile. "Hey."

He blinked, his face unreadable. "You look like shit."

Gee, really? How many times was I told that today?

"You're wet."

Oh really? Thanks for letting me know. I'll just continue to stand here and get drenched by the rain and all.

"Come in, I'll try to find you some dry clothes."

I bit down on my bottom lip. "You sure it's okay? I am wet, and that floor looks-"

"Come in," he repeated, except this time it was a lot more firmly stated. I didn't question him anymore. I just walked in, the door automatically closing behind me. I followed Leon and looked back, staring at the wet trail of dirt I made. I bit down on my lip even harder.

After about a century of walking, he pointed to a long, fluffy looking couch. "Sit there while I try to find you some clothes that can fit you." He pressed a button on the wall.

"How may I help you, sir?" a lady asked through the intercom.

"Please come downstairs and assist my guest. Do whatever he asks."

"Yes, sir."

And he left.

I sighed, looking around. The mansion looked even bigger on the inside than it did on the out. The couch was insanely soft and comfortable. I felt like if I didn't watch myself, I would fall asleep on it.

A black lady rushed to me and smiled. "Welcome to this humble abode." She draped a large blanket over me. Another maid handed me some hot chocolate. I slowly accepted it. Another man placed a tray containing a steaming bagel and an assortment of spreads in front of me. The black lady next to me handed a remote to me, her smile never dying. "Is there anything you need, sir?"

I shook my head, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the hospitality I was receiving that I never asked for.

She nodded. "The remote is universal. It controls the TV, along with the couch's massage system, as well as the A/C and the stereo. To dim the lights, clap once. To turn off the lights, clap twice. To turn it on, clap twice again. Is there anything else, sir?"

"This is really great, thanks." I looked down. "If you don't mind... I left a dirty trail behind me when I came in-"

"That's already been taken care of, sir. Thank you for reminding me." Her smile still never faded.

I slowly nodded, feeling a bit awkward at her constant stare. "I'm good now, thanks."

She nodded quickly. "Just press that Call button on your remote if you need anything." And she scurried away.

I stared at the remote, looking for the TV buttons. I pressed the power button and was directed to a TV guide. Once I found HBO, I pressed the OK button and started to watch The Notebook as I sipped my hot chocolate. I pulled my blanket tighter. I was freezing cold from these wet clothes on me, and my hair was clinging to my face from its dampness.

After about fifteen minutes, an elevator opened, and Leon came walking through it, some clothes in his hand. He walked over to me and dropped them next to me. "Here," he said with a monotone voice. "Go to the bathroom and put these on. Come back out here when you're finished. Then just let me know when you're ready for me to take you home."

I looked up at him. His face was unreadable. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I asked him, feeling like a freeloader after all of this was done for me.

He shrugged. "I guess... people do crazy things for love." And for the first time since I've been here, his face finally showed some emotion: sadness. He walked over to a wall behind me and leaned against it, crossing his arms and pointing his eyes directly to the floor.

I gulped. Did that mean he still loved me?

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked, standing up after I placed the blanket and hot chocolate down.

He pointed. "Keep going straight until you see a door on the right."

I nodded and started to walk, passing by him and not giving him eye contact.

Once I was in the bathroom, I looked around, wondering if this was actually the bathroom. The bathroom itself was the size of my apartment, containing a polished floor, gold-lined mirrors, glistening sinks, a walk-in bathtub with a shower in it, and a hot-tub.

I started to strip, throwing my wet clothes on the floor. I took a look at the clothes Leon gave me. It was a white t-shirt with long red sleeves paired with some gray sweatpants. I held it up to my nose and sniffed. Sure enough, it smelt like him. The thought made me smile. I was actually going to put on Leon's clothes.

Only, when I actually put it on, the pants wouldn't stay on my waist. They kept sliding down to my ankles. And the shirt was about as baggy as my jersey, only bigger and longer, completely covering my backside all the way to my mid-thighs. I sighed. I wasn't surprised. Leon was tall and was built. I was short and scrawny. I guess I'm going pants-less again.

I made my way out of the bathroom, my clothes in my hand. An Asian maid bent over to me and took them, smiling and walking away. I'm guessing I would get those back later.

I passed by Leon again and sat back down on the couch, placing the rest of his clothes next to me.

He didn't move or look up from the floor. "Where's the pants?"

I shrugged. "They didn't fit. Don't worry, I have boxers on."

There was a silence. Leon scratched his head and walked over to me. "You ready for me to take you back home?"

I looked down. "Actually... if it's okay with you... I'd like to stay here for the night."

He raised his eyebrows and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess you can. I mean, I have plenty of guest rooms you can stay in-"

"In your room. With you." I looked up at him. He froze.

"I don't... have any airbeds or extra mattresses for you to sleep in."

"I know," I mumbled. "That's why I want to be in there with you."

He widened his eyes, my words taking him aback. "Are you suggesting that... you sleep with me?"

I gulped, something I did a lot so far. "That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

His face was unreadable for a moment, and then he looked back at the elevator and then at me. He looked me over, examining how I looked with his clothes on. His ears turned red. He slowly nodded. "You want... to sleep with me... on my bed... in my room... tonight?"

I weakly smiled. "If that's okay with you."

He stuck his tongue in his cheek and looked around, thinking of what he should do. Then he sighed and winced. "Alright."

My heart skipped a beat. He had no idea what I was planning to do tonight.

* * *

**Leon**

I paced my room, rapidly thinking through different scenarios of what could happen tonight. What was I doing? Why did Cloud want to sleep with me? Did he want to do what I think he wants to do? If so, why? Didn't he go off on me for telling him how I feel?

Which, in fact, is still burning strong.

What made him change his mind about me, if he changed his mind? I ran my hand down my face. He did look incredibly sexy and alluring in my shirt. It gave him a kind of innocent look for him. It made me wonder what was under there.

After minutes of putting up with my crazy imagination, the bathroom door finally opened, and Cloud closed it behind him. He put his two index fingers together, pressing them together over and over nervously. He kept his eye contact to the floor and stood there.

"Leon?" he asked, his eyes still to the floor. He still calls me Leon. We're still close.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered, trying to keep my composure.

He took a deep breath. "I acted really partial to you back at the office, and partial to myself as well. I was keeping myself from the truth. And I shunned you out as well because I couldn't put my past aside."

"Yeah...?" I said.

He gulped. "And, I'm asking that..."

"Asking that I what?"

He looked up, revealing a look of determination. "I ask that you make love to me."

I widened my eyes, plopping myself down on my bed due to the lack of support my knees gave me after giving out from hearing that statement. He did not just say what I think he said. Is he kidding? This isn't funny. He shouldn't play with my feelings like this.

"M-make... love?" I mumbled.

Cloud walked over to me, sitting himself on my lap. He wrapped one arm around my neck and his other hand placed itself on my chest. He smiled. "Your heart is beating fast. You still love me, don't you."

I blinked, gazing at him. What do I say? Confirm? Deny? If I confirm, will he flip at me again?

He looked up at me, his blue eyes dilated. "It's okay. It took me this long to realize that...I feel the same way."

"...Cloud?" I asked.

He put his forehead again mine.

"I love you," he whispered.

I widened my eyes, both of us gazing into each other. It took me a moment to process what he just told me. Did he really walk in the rain from his apartment all the way to my house, drenching himself in rain, ruining his sandals, just to tell me he loved me?

That's how I knew he was telling the truth.

I took his round, flawless, cheek into my hand and rubbed my thumb against it. "You don't have to do this," I replied softly. But truth is, I very much wanted to do this. I was crossing my fingers that he didn't suddenly back out. I've been dreaming about this day since I first met him.

Cloud pouted, breaking eye contact by looking down. "Are you saying... you don't want to do this?"

I smiled. "No no, it's nothing like that. Never like that," I chuckled. He looked back up at me. "It's just... I can't believe the man of my dreams is sitting on my lap right in front of me telling me that he loves me."

Cloud bit his bottom lip. "And it took that guy so long so realize how he truly felt."

Our faces went serious, and we both leaned in until our lips touched.

It was nothing like any of the previous kisses we shared. This one was different. More special. This time I could feel the sparks fly between us. I could feel the connection, as if our mouths were meant for each other. His lips were so full and smooth, whenever you kissed them, it was a memory that burned into your heart. And something about this kiss, made that burn into a scar. It was passionate. The other kisses were mainly lust. This one was purely of love.

The kiss slowly started to progress into a much more passionate one. Our lips moved quickly against each other. Cloud opened his mouth, and I opened mine, allowing each other to explore our canals.

We broke off, and Cloud ran his hands down my chest. When he reached the end of it, he lifted it over my head. I pulled it off, revealing my upper body, which wasn't that amazing if you asked me. But according to Cloud's eyes, it was good enough.

Cloud placed his hands on top of my pecks, smiling. "You're like a piece of perfection. Even your body is sculpted to look like a god's."

I lightly laughed. "No need to over-exaggerate."

He bit his bottom lip and untied my sweatpants. Grinning, I pushed him over to the bed and climbed on top of him. Cloud's cheeks turned pink, and he was still biting his lip, a habit that got me every time. I leaned in and hovered over his face, listening as his breathing became heavier.

I placed my head onto his chest and smiled. "Your heart is beating faster as well."

"I know. You aren't helping either."

I quickly pulled off his shirt, revealing a slightly pale body that was flawless.

Cloud blushed even deeper. "I know it's not as amazing as yours but-"

I sank my mouth into his, and soon moved over to his neck, nibbling on that soft part that always got him. Instantly, I felt him become weaker under me, moaning in pleasure. My mouth trailed down his body until it reached his boxers.

He pulled down mine. And he did the same for himself, sheepishly smiling, as if embarrassed about his body. How could he be? It fit him perfectly, and I wouldn't ask for it any differently. Besides, I wouldn't feel like I was in control if his was bigger than mine. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

"Have you ever done this before?" I asked him.

He nodded guiltily. I smiled. I couldn't believe this was happening.

Slowly, I entered inside him his legs wrapping around my waist. He gasped, biting his lip down hard as his face went red. I looked at him with concern. "Are you okay?" I whispered.

He nodded and flashed me a weak smile. "It's just... it was never this big."

I lightly laughed, and I kissed him gently, slowly moving in and out as his hands explored my back, moaning in pure pleasure.

"Excuse me, sire," my butler started as he walked in. "But I believe-" He stopped, slowly taking in the situation. Cloud gasped and hid his face under my chest. I groaned, my ears turning red.

"Knocking, butler," I sighed. "Knocking."

The butler's face boiled in embarrassment. "I apologize." And he quickly shut the door.

Great. It wouldn't be the same now.

Cloud giggled, wrapping his arms around my neck, smiling. "Why'd you stop?"

I swear, I couldn't more happier than at this moment. He was perfect for me. I finally found the person that I love, that loves me back. I didn't care about the state of his house, or his past relationship with a good-looking stripper. I didn't care about what people would say at work once they found out about this. I would just smile and accept it with pride.

"I love you," I mumbled, gazing down at him and I kept inserting it back and forth.

He put his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. "I love you too."

And the night only got better from that point on.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Lol at Heaven'sKnight15's review. It seems as if you are also on Team Leon, seeing as how blunt you were about Sephiroth being a dick weed. Whatever that is, lol. x) And many thank you's for the brownie points. I enjoyed them. 3  
**

**To anime-dark-fairy, I'm so happy you enjoyed reading my story. It means so much. And I absolutely adore Australians! If I get anything wrong, can you let me know so I can make it accurate? I want Axel to be on the ball. ;)**

**And lastly, WindWisp, oh boy, lol. Something about your reviews that I have to reply to. I love you so much. Don't worry about Axel. I got that all planned out. In fact, there's a portion in this chappy that pertains to him and Zack. I thought of you while writing it. :)**

**And thank you to everyone for PMing me or reviewing, even reading this in general! You don't know how special I feel inside. :3**

**And as usual...**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Leon **

I moaned, wiped my face with my hand and slowly opened my eyes. Such a long night. What happened again? Whatever it was, it really got me drained this morning, more drained than I usually am.

I focused my vision and saw my arms wrapped around a really attractive blonde. A really attractive naked blonde. Who was smiling back at me.

"Good morning, Leon."

I gasped and quickly sat up. My head instantly felt dizzy. I clutched it, trying to steady myself. What the hell? What is Cloud doing in my bed? And why was he naked? And why were my arms around him?

Cloud rolled over to my direction, his face expressing worry. "What's wrong? Did I surprise you? I'm sorry."

That's when it hit me.

_I love you..._

Oh shit.

Cloud loves me.

Cloud loves me!

And we had amazing sex last night in celebration!

And here he is on my bed, naked, looking like an angel with a genuine smile on his face.

He's the first face I see today and hopefully he'll start being my last.

I can't believe it. The love of my life is in my bed, smiling at me, telling me good morning, naked.

I grinned, looking back at him. He pouted. "What?" he asked me.

I crawled over him. "Good morning, Cloud. Had a good sleep last night?"

He giggled. "I don't know, did you?"

"Amazing, thank you." And we shared a good morning kiss.

In the kitchen, we were both leaned against a counter, across from each other in the big kitchen, sipping coffee and flashing each other flirtatious glances and smiles. He had that same t-shirt of mine from last night on, with nothing under. I think I've just decided that I would let him keep it. It looked way better on him than it did on me.

"Good morning, mates." She nodded once each time she acknowledged both of us. "Mistah Leonhawt. Ghest." The maid had an Australian accent, which always reminded me of Axel. She walked over to me. "Yer clothes hov been woshed and droid, sir."

Cloud smiled and nodded. "Thank you." The maid placed the clothes next to him and walked off.

It was silent again, but it was a good silent.

"So," Cloud started, putting his coffee down next to him. He smiled coyly and looked around, purposely avoiding my eyes. "You going to work, today?"

I shrugged. "Not sure, seeing how tired I am and all."

He sighed. "My car got stolen last night, so I'm gonna need someone to drop me off home."

My heart sank. "You're not staying here?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to be a burden-"

"You're never a burden."

He cringed. "I left a trail of dirt on your polished floor yesterday and I got your white sofa dirty. On top of that, I probably scarred your butler for life."

I walked up to him, putting my hands on his waist and pulling him towards me. "And they were all taken care of. Cloud, I never want you to feel like your a burden to me. You can only be the complete opposite. In fact, I want you to stay."

"...stay?" he mumbled, gazing up at me with those crystal blue eyes.

"Stay," I confirmed. "Here. With me."

He smiled, then frowned and looked down. "I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to do this just because of what happened last night. It's fine. I mean it. I'll completely understand if you tell me to go back home."

I embraced him in a warm hug. "And that'll never happen."

His arms wrapped around me, joining me in the hug.

My butler walked in, flinching, and then softening up when he realized we were just hugging. He gulped, and plastered on a fake smile. "Just a reminder, sir. You have a meeting today at work with Apple. You have to go to work in an hour. Breakfast is ready and on the table." And he nodded and walked off.

I winced, slowly pulling away from Cloud. "I forgot. I have to go to work today."

Cloud slowly nodded, trying to cover his disappointment by smiling. But it wasn't working. I could see it in his eyes. "That's totally fine. Don't let me slow you down."

I kissed his forehead. "I promise I'll be back as soon as possible."

Cloud lightly laughed, and picked up his clothes. "I'll be waiting here." And he walked off, attempting to find the table with breakfast.

"Other way, Cloud," I laughed.

He blushed and turned around. "Right," he mumbled. I sighed. Why did I fire him? I could just bring him with me and he could help me make the day go by much quicker. Instead, I'll be anxious and glance at the clock all day, waiting for time to pass.

Don't worry, Cloud. I'll make it up to you as soon as I come home.

* * *

**Cloud **

"Will time please hurry up and hit 5:00 already?" I groaned, kicking my legs in the air in annoyance. I stared at the TV in boredom. This is a mansion, right? There has to be more interesting things to do here then watch TV.

I had showered up and dug in Leon's closet for some clothes. Apparently all of them were huge on me. So I just slipped on another one of his shirts and wore it as a baggy dress. My sandals were nowhere to be found.

I got up and started to explore the place. It was huge, so I had to be careful not to get lost. There was tennis court, a golf court, a swimming pool, and indoor pool, a Jacuzzi, a hiking trail, a computer room, a velvet room(that's what it labeled on the door. It was locked though, and it said No Entry on it), you name it.

You could live here and never see the outside and be perfectly fine. However, the size of the place was a bit overwhelming, and it somehow reminded me that I was alone here, besides the maids and assistants running around.

My phone vibrated in my boxers. I forgot I put it in there.

Pulling it out, I checked who it was. It was Sephiroth.

Pursing my lips, I tapped the Ignore button and put it back in my boxers. He doesn't deserve to get the time of day.

Speaking of, I should probably call Zack and tell him where I'm at. He could be worried right now. I dialed his number and stood here, in a random room with blank walls. I touched the wall for no real reason, and it instantly turned into a view of the beach during sunset. The waves were crashing, and the sand looked real. I gasped. Whoa.

"Hello?" Zack asked as he answered the phone.

"Zack, it's me, Cloud."

"Cloud! You're alive!" he shouted into the phone with pure happiness. I rolled my eyes.

"He's alive? Thank goodness!" I heard Axel say behind the background. Really guys?

"So what happened to you? I went to check on you at Sephiroth's place when I got off work. But this guy named Seifer said you took off and left. When I went to your house, you weren't there either. I was worried sick. Are you okay? Do I need to come down and beat some asses?"

I laughed. "No, I'm fine, thanks for asking. My car got stolen and I was in a really bad mood last night, plus it was raining and my house was too far away, and I had no money to call a cab. So I just walked over to Leon's house and stayed there for the night."

"Stayed there? And he let you?! Where did you sleep, on the couch?"

I bit my bottom lip, smiling to myself. "No..."

He gasped. "Don't tell me what I think you're telling me. Are you saying you slept in..."

"Yep," I stated boldly.

"And did anything...you know... happen?"

I took a deep breath. "I told him how I truly felt about him and we had sex."

"WHAT?!" he shouted into the phone. I heard it drop along with some voices of shock and astonishment. It made me giggle to myself. I felt like a totally new person. Like I was no longer the "bitch" that some whore turned to when he was bored. I felt like I was actually loved and appreciated. Like I was needed.

Zack picked up the phone again and got himself situated. "Did he rape you? Do I need to call the cops?! I'm gonna call the cops!"

"No no, Zack, it's not like that!" I laughed. "It was 100% voluntary. In fact, I kinda pushed myself on him more than he did to me."

Zack gasped again. "No way... so you told him you liked him?"

"I told him I loved him."

"No way," he said, but I could hear the smile in his voice. To him, as long as I was away from Sephiroth, he didn't care who I was with. In fact, I think he was relieved that I was able to move on and find someone better.

"It's all good, Zack. He told me felt the same way a while ago. We just reinforced it last night. And now he wants me to stay here until things get situated." I looked around. This room was really cool.

"Listen, about the car, you don't worry about that, okay? You just stay and there and worry about looking cute for your new man you got there, you hear me? Axel and I will handle the rest."

"Okay," I replied. That's Zack. Always looking out for me.

"I'm so happy for you," he said. I heard Axel say something that made Zack laugh. "Axel feels the same. He thought you were 'stepping into the pond' according to him. You Aussie's have to many weird slogans going on."

Axel laughed. "We also had a lot of alligators and all that hung around in ponds!" he shouted.

I laughed with him. I get it.

"Well we'll leave you be. Just let me know if you need anything. You know my number, and you know where I live."

"I got ya."

"See ya, Cloud. Don't hurt yourself." And I don't think he meant that in a physical way.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine. See ya."

And we hung up.

I bit my bottom lip happily, staring at my phone in joy. Can my life get any better?

My phone suddenly dinged and flashed a text from Sephiroth.

_Babe, stop ignoring me! I miss you. I'm really sorry about last night. Can we talk? I promise I can make things better. _

I rolled my eyes and deleted it. Son of a bitch. Go suck dick.

* * *

**Leon**

"And here, as you can see, is the part where the stock market began to crash," a man droned on, pointing to a red point on the diagram being displayed from a machine. I rolled my eyes, staring at the clock. 20 minutes. 20 minutes and then I can go home to Cloud and make his life something worth living.

Rufus, sitting next to me, noticed how I wasn't paying attention, and pursed his lips. "We called this meeting for your sake, not ours. If you want this partnership to work, you must realize the problems going on here," he whispered.

I groaned and kept staring at the clock. "Have you ever thought that maybe this partnership isn't the biggest thing on my mind?"

Rufus widened his eyes. "How can you speak like that? I thought you wanted success, not stupidity."

Yeah, maybe I did back then. But now success was the least of my problems. I had enough savings to retire right now and never work again until I died, with no problems with bills and plenty of vacations to go around.

"Then leave me with my stupidity and continue with your attempts at making our partnership successful."

Rufus narrowed his eyes. "It's that boy, isn't it. What is he, an intern? I knew he would cause you problems after-"

"He's not a boy, he's 27. He's not an intern, he's a loyal worker that tried his best to do things right. And the only problem he was capable of causing, was not smiling at all, making me worry about if he was okay."

Rufus stared at me. "You seem to be awfully defensive toward this _boy_, don't you think?"

I smirked, turning and giving Rufus eye contact. "Are you jealous, Rufus? Are you thinking the inevitable? Because whatever it is, just know it's true. We're a thing now, and the major difference between him and you... is that I love him."

Rufus widened his eyes, gasping. Everyone turned to us. He ignored the stares. "You take that back. Take that back right now."

"Why? Then I would be lying. And you _hate_ liars," I whispered sarcastically. I glanced at the clock. It dinged. Work time was over. Everyone got up and grabbed their papers and audible recorders. I got up myself and walked away, briefcase in hand, leaving Rufus to sit there, stunned at the sudden confidence I hat towards him. He was so used to telling me what to do, he totally forgot that I had a voice of my own.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

**Axel**

"Oi..." I mumbled to myself.

"What's up?" Zack asked, his face growing with concern.

I shook my head. "It's nothing, rilly." Nothing except the fact that every time I look at you, my heart aches from the fact that you probably don't share the same feelings I have with you. And as much as I tried to get my crush on you to dim down, it never does. Ever since we started hanging out and getting personal training from you, I think it actually grew.

He sighed and got up from the couch. "Well we're done here for today."

I looked up at him, trying to feign that I didn't really care. But in truth I was really disappointed he had to leave already. "Already, yea?"

He nodded, putting his hands in his back pockets. He gave me an odd look, one I couldn't really describe. "So, uhh... when are you gonna tell me?"

I blinked. "Tell ya what?"

He smirked. "Who you like."

Oh Zack, don't smirk. Don't do that to me. You only make it so much more harder for me to tell you.

I shrugged. "Does it matter that much to yew?"

He looked down. "Well I guess knowing the guy might help me figure out what kind of tips would benefit you best." He looked back up at me. "Have you been using them? Does the guy you like notice you yet?"

I looked at him warily. "Yea, he notices me, alroight."

"Does he flirt with you and stuff?"

"Well...nawt rilly."

"Does he even know you like him like that?"

I sighed, giving Zack a sad look that he had no idea was directed towards him. "Nawt that I know of."

Zack slowly nodded, and turned around and started to walk away. And then he stopped and turned to me, slamming his two hands against the wall, trapping me in his arms. I widened my eyes. "'Allo there... pretty close, don't ya think?"

He smirked. "You don't like it?" he asked me.

I gulped. Was he flirting with me?

I shrugged. "Ah don't care, rilly."

He sighed. "That's not an affirmative answer, Axel." And he removed his hands. He turned around and kept shaking his head. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Did I do something wrong? Why was he walking away so disappointed? Truth was, I actually _did_ like it, and I grew _very_ sad once he stopped.

"Zack..." I called.

He turned around and raised his eyebrows, acknowledging me.

I looked down. "Do you think...you think I'm weird?"

He tilted his head, confused. "Weird? You're pretty fine to me."

I looked to the side, kind of nervous. "Ah don't know. It's just... the guy ah like eez always around good-looking people whew look normal, and hea ah am with red hair and tears for tattoos. At first glance, people tend to think I'm going through some 'rebellious stage'. Tell me the truth. Did you think that? You think ah need to change or something?"

Zack shook his head and kept walking up to me. "Axel, you're perfect the way you are. Any guy who doesn't see how amazing you are as a person is obviously blind. Whoever he is, he's really lucky that he managed to grab your attention."

I widened my eyes. What's he trying to say?

Zack noticed, and he looked down, his face turning red. "Well... what I mean is...huh..." he mumbled, scratching his head and trying to come up with an excuse. I smiled. This was a good sign. He said I was amazing. And perfect.

"Thank you, Zack."

He nodded, his face returning color. He waved at me once and exited through the door.

That's when I gained enough balls, and I shouted out, "AH LIKE YEW, ZACK! YEW WERE MY CRUSH THE ENTIRE TIME!"

Sadly, I don't think he heard me seeing as how I didn't get any return. My phone suddenly buzzed once. I checked it and it was a text from Zack. I eagerly unlocked my phone and read it.

_Meet me at the back of Power House tonight during my break at 9:40. I think you're worth sacrificing some coffee today. ;)_

I grinned. That Zack.

* * *

**Cloud**

I sighed, smacking on my gum in frustration. "You know," I started. "I never understood why Jenna chose Matty. I personally think Jake is so much more sweeter and good looking than that insecure douchebag."

All the maids nodded in agreement, eating popcorn and watching Awkward on MTV with me. Hey, they were suppose to follow my orders. I was tired of being bored and lonely, so I ordered them to come watch some TV with me and relax. They did just that.

"Yew think Jenna weel eva come to her senses?" the Australian maid asked.

"No way. She's too blind from love to see the guy that obviously loves her more," the black aid inputted. They all nodded in agreement and ate some more popcorn. I sighed. It reminded me too much of my past problem. Before I came to my senses and saw that Leon was the right guy for me.

I heard footsteps come down the hallway, and eventually I hear the sound of a bag drop to the floor. All of us turned around and saw Leon, staring. All of the maids gasped. "Oh no, Mr. Leonhart's home!" they whispered to each other.

I frowned. "So?"

"He's very strict, and might fire us in a heartbeat."

I shook my head. "That's the old him. You can stay-"

"No!" they stated firmly and quickly picked up their popcorn and went back to their duties. Leon looked around.

"What are you all doing? Don't let me stop you," Leon informed. They all turned to him and gave him funny looks. Leon flashed a smile. "Please. Take a break. You all need one after working so hard for so long."

All of the maids smiled, mumbling "thank you" to themselves and sat back down next to me. I couldn't help but smile.

Later on, I saw Leon was alone, on a huge-screened, insanely flat desktop that displayed crystal clear images and was also a touchscreen. He was on many more computers like that at the same time, and he was staring intently at all of them. They all displayed some sort of moving graph. Leon sighed and sat down on his chair, rubbing his forehead. I felt bad a little. Was he always working this hard, simply for the success he already had?

Quietly, I walked up to him from behind and placed my hands on his shoulders, slowly starting to knead them. "Do you always bring work home and work this late? I mean, it's past midnight."

"Well I can't say it's uncommon," he mumbled, staring at the computer in front of him. "Sometimes I just feel like dumping all of this aside and just moving far away from this place and be a normal person. You know, the type that gets to sleep at ten and wake up at noon."

I smiled. "But you wouldn't be you if you weren't like this. When people hear your name, they think 'successful, handsome, charming billionaire.' Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?"

Leon laughed. "Well, minus the handsome part."

I spun his chair around and gazed at him. "Saying you weren't handsome would be lying to you."

He shook his head. "Cloud, really."

I looked around. "Where's the button that shuts down everything? Oh! There it is."

He widened his eyes. "Don't. I didn't save anything."

Cloud flashed me a mischievous grin. "You think I don't know that?"

He gasped and shook his head, getting up and walking towards me. "Cloud!"

Without hesitation, I pulled down on the switch and everything went dark, the only light coming from the back light of the switch. Leon froze, staring at me. I grinned. "Loosen up. Make mistakes every once in a while."

He shook his head very slowly. "Cloud, I think I just have to kill you."

I smirked. "Oh really?" I turned around and ran, laughing as I moved away. Soon after, I heard thumping footsteps close behind me. I laughed even harder and started to race down to the elevator, pressing the button over and over. I watched as he approached quicker and quicker. I yelped a little and entered the elevator as it opened.

"Close, close, close!" I shouted at the door as I pressed the Door Close button repeatedly. But it was too slow, for Leon went ahead and waltzed in the elevator right before it shut. I gulped and grinned. "Is this the part where you kill me now?"

He pushed me against a wall. "You're too much."

"I know."

He smiled, flashing some nice white teeth. "But I have to admit, that was the most fun I've had in my entire life so far."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

He nodded.

"You're about to hit 30 and you've never had fun?"

He shook his head, sliding to the floor. He looked sad, and he stared at his hands. "All my life, I've been studying and working and creating spreadsheets. I never went to any dances since I was privately tutored, and I never had any friends. Rufus and I never really went on vacation together, if you don't include business trips. Now that I remember, I lived with very cold-hearted people my entire life."

"Even Rufus?"

"Even Rufus," he confirmed.

That's it. Time to pull out mom's wonderful words of wisdom.

I shrugged and sat myself down next to him, realizing we never pressed an elevator floor yet. "Well... sometimes the only way to see what good things you have right now... is to forgive the bad things you had in the past."

He gave me a weird look. "Where'd you come up with that, a fortune cookie?"

"Haha," I said dryly. "More like my mom, you dumbnut."

"Dumbnut," he laughed. "That actually hurts."

I lightly pushed him to the side. In response, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me towards him. "Sadly, I don't think I can do that. Not only do I not have the heart to forgive them yet, but I don't even know where they are."

I rolled my eyes. "Do what you feel. But that's just my opinion."

He smiled and pressed the 4th floor button. It slowly started to move upwards. I closed my eyes, letting myself be in his arms. Right now, life was perfect. And I wouldn't ask for it any different.

Once it stopped and opened, Leon got up and picked me up in a bridal carry, grinning while walking towards his room. I gasped, hitting him on the arm. "Leon, stop it! I hate heights! Couldn't you at least tell me first?"

He plopped me down on his bed and crawled over me. "I love you so much."

I smiled, running my hand in his now-frazzled hair, which made him look sexier than usual. "I love you more."

"I love you most," he mumbled, and we made-out to the point where the rest was completely fuzzy to me.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

**Sephiroth**

I groaned, fixing my dick into a right position in my pants and took a swig of beer, getting bored of this movie I was watching. I didn't even know what it was called. I was just completely bored out of my mind. I feel like fucking. But I'm all alone now.

I tried texting Cloud. He never answered. I sighed. Why is he always such a little bitch? He needs to man up. Shouldn't he expect boys from left and right to fling themselves at me, considering how I was a beautiful and seductive stripper with long, angelic hair?

That's fine. Who needs him anyway. Sensitive prick.

The doorbell rang. Could it be? Pretty Boy came to his senses and came crawling back, as usual?

I got up and walked over to the door, looking through the peephole. It was a stranger. I opened the door. A really attractive stranger at that.

The man was short, about 5"5, and had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and full pink lips that were pursed in annoyance. His shirt was a white button-down, and his slacks were khaki along with some dark brown Sperry's. He had an expensive looking watch on his left wrist, and a wallet that looked swollen in his pocket. I glanced over at the driveway and saw a fancy looking convertible.

I smirked. "What brings you here? Came to fuck? Not surprised."

The man cringed and rolled his eyes. For some reason, this guy reminded me of Cloud. A lot. Did he have a long-lost twin brother?

"My name's Rufus. You've probably heard of me," he stated with confidence, looking around my house and raising an eyebrow in question. His words stabbed my insides, but his tone of voice was like he was sorry and very humble for what he said. It made it hard for me to snap at him. And his voice was very soft.

"Rufus? You're that Apple guy right? I have your phone. Wanna check it out? It's inside, in my room..." I slurred, winking at him.

He rolled his eyes again. "I created the phone. I'm pretty sure I don't need a reminder." He cleared his throat. "I have recently been aware that you are Mr. Cloud Strife's boyfriend, correct?"

I looked around uneasily. Was this Cloud's new boyfriend? Sheesh, talk about upgrade.

"Well, uhh... ex-boyfriend, to be exact," I corrected. "But why you need to know? I'm single now, if that's what you want." I winked.

Rufus gave me a fake smile. "Flattering. But I'll pass." Once again stabbing words, but sweet tone. And not a sarcastic one. It sounded genuinely sweet, as if he couldn't help himself and he apologized.

He looked at me, smirking. "I want you to confirm this for me: is Cloud Strife sleeping with Squall Leonhart?"

I widened my eyes, nervously looking around. "He is?! I thought he was still sobbing over me."

Rufus narrowed his eyes at me, his smirk still there. "I want you to do me a big favor, Sephiroth. It's going to take a lot of you to succeed, but if you do, I'll reward you big time."

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that reward getting in your pants?"

"Calm yourself," he groaned. "I mean, in money. Riches, everything for you. If you only do one thing for me."

"And that is...?" I asked him.

Rufus cleared his throat, standing up more straighter now.

"Assist me in getting rid of Cloud Strife and getting Squall to get back into his senses to realize what's truly important."

"Whoa, define 'getting rid of.'"

"Getting rid of is a pretty generic term, Sephiroth. I mean that in any way possible. Any."

"Even...?" I mumbled, not wanting to say it.

He narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Even that."

I gave him a creepy look, starting to become scared of him. "Why do you hate Pretty Boy so much?"

"I'm going to assume that's his nickname," he grumbled. He rolled his eyes.

"Because," he started. "Squall is mine. And Mr. Strife is stopping him from seeing that. If I manage to get Leon to marry me again, our partnership with each other's companies will succeed, and I'll become even more successful."

"Your crazy."

He grinned. "I know."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: AS THE PLOT UNFOLDS...! **

**What will happen next?! Who knows?**

**Oh wait, I know. **

**My badz. :P**

**And I read all of your reviews. I am truly thankful! OMG you guys are amazing!**

**To xOwleX, I like happy endings too. We'll just have to wait and see what happens...**

**And to Heaven'sKnight15... I'm stealing that catchphrase. I officially copyright "Holy Klondike Bar!" Sowwy. But I gotsta do what I gotsta do. ;P**

**So, I'm guessing all of you are itching to find out what happens next. I am too. :P**

**Lol, I'm just teasing you guys. I have this whole thing already planned out. **

**Lol, I'm probably pushing your buttons.**

**Wait... is that a knife?**

**O_O**

**C'mon, guys, I was playing!**

**Okay okay! I'll continue with the story! Sheesh... tough crowd. :/**

**But anyways...**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Cloud **

"You promise you'll be back?" Leon asked me, sticking his head out of the car window.

I nodded and smiled. "I promise. I just need to do a couple of things."

"Oh, and Cloud! How would feel coming back to work and being my personal assistant, if you know what I mean?"

I raised an eyebrow, slightly smirking. "And just what do you mean by personal?"

He shrugged. "Just come back to work with me. I promise it'll be a better experience for you versus being left alone at the house for five days every week."

I thought about it, and then eventually nodded. "Alright. I'll come back tomorrow."

He smiled. "Then I'll see you at home later on."

I waved. "See you."

And he drove off, leaving me at my apartment complex. I sighed. Okay, first thing's first. Tell the landlord to stop my bills for a while since I will be staying at Leon's for who knows how long. I don't want to stay there forever though. Then I'll feel like a freeloader.

I turned around and walked into the front entrance, noticing a line. I groaned and crossed my arms. Three people in front of me, and Mr. Vexen isn't what you would call a fast worker. I sighed and started to play with my phone.

A couple of girls sitting down on some seats were whispering to each other, giggling while pointing at me. I looked down. Is there something wrong with my outfit? It's not like I'm not wearing anything under. And I shaved my legs. Finally.

They finally walked over to me, still giggling.

"Hi, my name is Ollete."

"And I'm Namine."

I slowly nodded. "Hi."

They giggled again. "Even his voice is kind of high-pitched..."

I groaned. I never slurred my words or purposely talked like a girl like those insanely gay guys did all the time. I talked normal. It's just that... my voice wasn't blessed with the deepest Adam's apple.

Ollete took a deep breath. "We wanna know if you're a boy or a girl."

Namine giggled.

I widened my eyes. Is that how I come off to the public all the time? As some tranny or something?

I looked down. "Why do you ask?"

Ollete raised her eyebrows. "Because you way too pretty to be a girl. You have too many girl features. And you shave your legs. I mean, come on. Only girls do that."

"But your voice is a couple pitches too deep to be a girl. Plus, you give off some sort of aura that you're actually a guy. We don't know, maybe it's the hair or something," Namine added.

I glared at them, then looked down, blushing. "I'm...I'm a guy." Is there a problem with shaving your legs? I don't like how man legs get all hairy and bushy to the point where you can't even see the legs. It's nasty to me, so I just shave it. Like I said, I don't care what people think.

Doesn't mean I don't get embarrassed when my gender is questioned.

"Really?! Are you sure?" Ollete asked.

"Maybe she's one of those girls that turned themselves to a guy," Namine whispered.

"Yeah, she probably has a vagina under there..."

I groaned. "I am a guy. I have a penis. And you guys are really pissing me off."

"What guy has long eyelashes?"

"And pink lips? Full ones..."

"And puffy cheeks?"

"And long, delicate-looking fingers?"

"And shaved legs?"

"And pretty nails?"

"And a short and skinny stature?"

"STOP," I blurted out. Everyone turned to me. I cleared my throat and looked down. "I get it, okay? No need to remind me." Hence, the nickname Pretty Boy that came from many colleagues and my own ex-boyfriend.

They giggled. "Your voice is so pretty," Namine commented.

"It's on that borderline of boy and girl."

"Are you guys gonna consistently comment about me?" I mumbled.

"Well what school do you go to? We think we've seen you around before," Ollete asked.

"Is it Destiny High?" Namine added.

I furrowed my eyebrows, my face going red. "Just how old do you think I am?"

"I dunno, 17?"

"No, it has to be 16," Namine corrected.

I huffed out a breath of air. "I'm 27."

"WHOA HE'S LIKE THOSE GODDESSES THAT NEVER AGE!"

"Haha," I said dryly.

"Alright, that's enough. Leave the poor boy alone," a stranger asked, waving us away.

I groaned. "Speak for yourself. I'm not a boy..."

He laughed. "Leave the poor man alone."

The girls whined and slowly walked back to their seats. I turned to the man and smiled. "Thanks."

The guy raised his eyebrows. "No offense, but I'm not sure if I can believe that you're 27."

I rolled my eyes. "Join the party."

He laughed. "I'm sorry. That's a good thing, by the way. It may not seem good right now, seeing as how you're still young and you want to seem mature and grown up. But just watch. When you become 40 or 50 something, you'll be wishing people think that you're 16."

I smiled. "I guess so."

He tilted his head, eyeing me over. "You mind if I ask for your name?"

"Cloud," I answered.

He nodded, smiling. "I can see why someone would name you that. Now that I think of it, you do kind of remind me of a cloud with your blue eyes and pale aura and such."

"My mom tells me the same thing all the time. I've gained some color over the years, but she said when I was born, I was really white and had blisteringly blue eyes. So she and dad called me Cloud."

"Well I'm Keiko Leonhart."

I froze. Did he just say Leonhart?

I laughed. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard you say something else. You mind repeating it?"

"Keiko...Leonhart."

I blinked. "Leonhart, you say?"

He smiled, nodding.

I widened my eyes, a grin slowly breaking out. "You don't happen to be Squall's father, are you?"

His eyes filled with sadness, and he slowly nodded. I examined him more thoroughly this time. If I didn't get his name, I wouldn't think he was a father at all. He looked to be about the same age as Sephiroth. He didn't age at all. His face was perfect. He was amazingly stunning and attractive. And once you look at him, he really does look like his son.

"How old are you?" I blurted, and then covered my mouth.

He laughed. "It's fine, I get that a lot." He looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "I think I'm about to go on 54 in a couple of months."

I shook my head, amazed. "You haven't aged at all. Mind telling me your secret?" I joked.

He shrugged. "Ever since I retired from my job and settled in this place, my life's been kind of quiet. No more stress and all. I guess it never showed up on my face."

I wonder why a billionaire like him would decide to move to a crappy place like here. It was obvious he was in hiding. From his family, maybe. Or the world. Was he tired of the stress of success?

I held out my hand. "Please to meet you. I'm your son's boyfriend." I waited for a response. Was he homophobic? Was he homo himself? Was he neutral about the whole idea of homo people? I usually got one of the three responses from people.

He grinned. "Really? Nice to meet you. I'm glad he has such good taste nowadays." And he shook my hand.

I don't understand how Leon could hate him so much. I loved him.

I blushed. "Yeah, well... you know."

"Next," Mr. Vexen called out.

Keiko turned around and started to do his business with the landlord. I glanced at Keiko's left hand. According to his ring finger, he was no longer married. And judging from his *really tall* height, I could see where Leon got it from. Suddenly, I wanted to get to know this man a lot more.

Once Mr. Vexen was finished with Keiko, he picked up his wallet, smiled at me, and started to leave.

"Wait!" I called.

He turned around and raised his eyebrows, acknowledging me.

I smiled. "You don't mind meeting me up at Starbucks later on today for a brunch, do you?"

He grinned. "Around 11, maybe?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great."

He nodded, waved goodbye, and left the building.

"Oh! That's why he looks like that! He's gay!" Ollete and Namine blurted, jumping in fan-girl excitement. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

I opened my apartment door and walked inside. All I had to do was grab my savings, my wallet, my clothes, some belongings of mine, and I'll be on my way.

There was a sound of a bark. I froze and looked around. My dog died a year ago. Was he coming to haunt me back? Oh shit.

Suddenly, a dog ran down from upstairs and toppled me over, continuously licking my face.

"What are you... stop it...oh god...hey quit that...get off of me!" I shouted, moving my face side to side to get the dog to stop. It was big. And it was a German Shepherd Regardless of its size, I knew German Shepherds. And this one was still a puppy.

There was a note on his collar that had my name written as the owner. According to the dog collar, his name was Chibi. I picked up the note, confused. It was signed by Zack.

_Dear Spiky,_

_You look like you need a companion in your life. I saw this dog was homeless so I cleaned it up, fed it, and gave it to you. Everything you need to take care of it is in your room. I hope you love it as much as I love you. _

_As a best friend, of course. Duh._

_I named it Chibi, because when I look at you, I think of a chibi. It suits you, ya know? _

_Well I'm gonna stop before this letter gets awkward. I hope you enjoy your new puppy. _

_- Zack_

I smiled. That's Zack. Always looking out for me.

I walked up the stairs, Chibi following me. Looks like Leon is getting a new dog too. I opened the door to my room, looking around and noticing my bed sheet totally chewed up. I groaned. Yep. Chibi is definitely a puppy.

A hand put itself over my mouth and another one grabbed me and pinned me to a wall. It was a tall figure with a mask on the head, with bright green eyes looking back at me. I widened my eyes in fear, trying to squirm but I couldn't.

The figure removed the mask, only to reveal that it was Sephiroth.

He let go of me. "Hey babe."

I slapped him.

He slowly held his cheek. "What was that for?"

I huffed, moving away from him. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"I picked the lock. Security seems to be a problem here."

I ignored him, taking a suitcase and throwing all my clothes in there. He gave me a curious look, watching me for a few minutes in silence. I eventually turned to look at him, realizing that all my feelings for him have died. I finally saw the douche he was.

"May I help you?" I asked him.

He walked up to me, licking his lips. "You can let me borrow those lips of yours for a few moments."

"That service is no longer available. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

He jumped on me, kissing me and holding me to him very hard. I squirmed and tried to leave his grasp as much as possible, but everyone except small children is stronger than me, and I was no match for him. Instead, I pursed my lips, trying to show him that his kiss was dead to me.

He removed his mouth, still staring at me and having a hold of my two arms. "What's wrong, baby? You're acting weird."

"No, I'm acting smart. Now let me go."

"You don't love me no more? Why?"

"You know, over the years, I've developed a strategic move that I can use to defend myself in situations like these. If you don't release me now, I'll happily demonstrate its effectiveness."

He laughed. "Oh come on, Pretty Boy-"

"It's Cloud."

"But Cloud-"

"1."

"Baby, you don't remember all those times we had?"

"2."

"You know, if you get back with me, I could protect you-"

"3."

Instantly, I shoved my knee up his ball-sack, and he toppled to the ground, clutching it and moaning in pain. I bent over to him. "You should know that I'm getting myself tested to see if I didn't catch anything from your traveling dick, you jackass."

I picked up my suitcase and bag of belongings.

"Oh and one more thing."

He grunted, straining to look up at me.

I smirked. "His is way bigger than yours." And I stepped over him, letting the bag roll over him while Chibi followed. I made my way out the apartment, and I smiled to myself as I thought of Sephiroth having his balls crushed by me.

* * *

"Thank you so much," I said, smiling and picking up my luggage. I handed the taxi driver a $20 bill.

He smiled and shook his head. "Keep it, dollface. You deserve it."

I grinned. "Wow... thank you," I repeated, and I watched as he drove off. There are perks to looking cute, I guess.

I looked around for Starbucks, and I found it a little further down the street. I walked over and stepped inside the air conditioned coffee house, putting my stuff aside at an empty table and walking to the cashier.

"Hello, ma'am, and how may I help you today?" the cashier greeted with a fake smile plastered to his face.

I pursed my lips, deciding to ignore his incorrect gender assumption. "Umm... I'd like a toasted cinnamon bagel and a caramel latte please?"

"Will that be all, ma'am?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

The door chimed, and sure enough Keiko walked in, his face looking a bit nervous as he looked around for me. I smiled and called out his name. He looked over to me, smiling and waving. I waved him over.

"There's a no loitering rule so you gotta buy something," I whispered to him. He nodded.

After we got settled in, we took a table together and discussed life in general. We instantly clicked. Turns out, his wife divorced him because of his decision to retire early and begin a more quiet life. He didn't mind. He didn't love her anyway. He said he's been watching his son on the news all the time, how he's so proud of him for making it so far. He just wishes he could see him one day to apologize for how he's treated him in the past.

I nodded. "Leon's a nice guy. He'll totally understand."

He raised his eyebrows. "Leon? I see he has a nickname going for him."

I shrugged. "Not that much. Just a part of his last name and all."

He nodded, smiling and gazing at me. "To be honest, I personally like you so much better than my son's past partner. You're so much brighter and more youthful... my son needs that in his life. Maybe it'll help him tone down his stress."

I tilted my head. "You talking about Rufus?"

"Well... yes, actually. I never liked him."

"Rufus is rich though, and he owns his own line of technology. I'm just... well, I'm just a low class, now jobless guy who lives off his boyfriend and has nothing going for him. Sometimes, I wonder if Leon would be better off with Rufus. He can do so much more for him, and I..."

"You can do so much for Squall as well," Keiko said, taking my hand and smiling. "You can give him the sense of joy in life he's never got to experience. See the beauty of true love and what it can do to you."

I bit my bottom lip and blushed. "Aww... well thank you."

**Rufus**

Just look at the brat. Who does he think he is? He thinks he can go around, flirting with every guy he sees? Sorry little booger. He needs to go back to waiting tables at minimum wage. I even remember him serving me once. Of course, I never paid him mind. I never knew I would meet him again like this.

_"Here you go, sir. One plate of Seafood Medley, and one plate of fried rice," Cloud had mumbled through a pen in his mouth. Once he placed them down, he smiled and took it out of his mouth, whipping out a mini notebook. "Any dessert?"_

_I cringed at the Seafood Medley. "This is not what I ordered."_

_Cloud gave me a questioning look, but still had a smile. "I'm... pretty sure that's what you asked for, sir."_

_"This has very poor blend in seafood, and there's absolutely no shrimp. It said there was shrimp on it." I pushed it away from me. "I'm not eating it. This is a sorry portrayal of what you people call 'food.'" I turned to him, putting my chin in my hands and fake-smiling at the wrench._

_"What grade are you in?" I asked._

_He grinned. "I'm a sophomore in college, sir."_

_"Well I highly suggest you drop out, and take some Social Skill courses, because your poor grammar and bad attitude is starting to make me vomit a little inside." I flashed my teeth. "Unless, of course, if that's what you're taking right now."_

_Cloud gulped, his smile slowly diminishing._

_I shrugged, placed a $50 bill on the table, and another $10 next to it. _

_"The $50 should cover the bill. The $10 is for you... you know, in case you run a couple of dollars short when you're looking for a fix." And I got up and left, smirking at his facial reaction. _

I laughed to myself. I wonder if he recognized me.

Squall tapped me on the shoulder. "You called?" he asked me. I smiled. He came right on time.

I pointed over to Starbucks. Through the gigantic window you could see Cloud smiling and playfully talking to the man. The man who looked somewhat like Squall, but that was probably coincidence.

Squall narrowed his eyes, trying to look closer.

I sighed. "I don't know about you, but it seems like you two have a very... 'open relationship' yes?"

Squall widened his eyes. "No way..."

I laughed lightly. "I know... who would've thought? But sometimes you just have to-"

Squall just took off without my permission.

**Cloud**

Keiko shook his head. "He would never understand."

I smiled. "Don't think like that! You have to be positive."

"But I just-"

"CLOUD!" someone called. Everyone looked up, and it was Leon with an angry expression on his face. Everyone gasped and started murmuring to themselves stuff like "that's the head of the Leon Tech Industries" or "he's so handsome!"

He marched over to me. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

I smiled. "Leon, your dad and I-"

"How could you associate yourself with him and let him corrupt your mind?!"

I frowned. "But..."

Keiko weakly smiled and shook his head, a gesture that told me to drop it.

Leon didn't acknowledge his father's presence not even once. "Come on, Cloud, let me save you from your misery."

My face contorted to confusion. "You don't know what you're talking about, Leon. Your dad is the sweetest thing in the world. He wants to talk to you. He's changed. He just wants to-"

"Let's _go_ Cloud!" Leon interrupted.

I frowned and let Leon drag me away from his dad, carrying my belongings with me and leaving him there. Leon dragged me to his car. I glanced over at Rufus and noticed his snarky stare with narrow eyes pointed towards my direction. I gulped. He didn't look too friendly.

Leon banged his hand on the steering wheel. "Why would you do such a thing?!"

"You mean talk you your dad and try to make amends between you two? Oh, I apologize," I slurred sarcastically.

"I never asked you to meddle in my business."

"He's really nice, Leon. And he's sorry for what he did to you in the past. You have to move on! The only way to enjoy your life is to-"

He held his hand up, shaking his head and sighing. "Just save it."

"I don't see why you're so pissed! All I was doing was talking to him!"

"Well maybe if you went through what I went through, you wouldn't see him the way I do."

I groaned and crossed my arms, looking out the window. "You have a concrete heart, Leon."

I ignored his glare, and he drove off.

* * *

As planned, the next day I had called a taxi to drop me off at my old workplace. I had my dress shirt and tie on, along with my black slacks and loafers. I have to admit, I looked pretty sharp for a first day back. Made me almost want to date myself.

But when I stepped inside the building, all of the workers suddenly turned and stared at me, murmuring to themselves as I passed by. Some faces were mixed with confusion, some with shock. Some were angry and some were giggly.

Before I had time to punch in, Aqua dragged me to the side and looked me up and down. I gave her a confused look. "What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath. "Well... word got around that you're actually a girl... and now everyone's questioning your lifestyle choice... considering how you tend to dress like a guy everyday..."

I widened my eyes. "But I'm a guy! I'm a full grown man, I have a freaking penis for Pete's sake!"

Aqua rolled her eyes. "It's fine to be a girl, Cloud. Sheesh, what's wrong with you? Is it shameful to be a girl?"

I gawked at her, shaking my head. "Aqua, it's not like that. But no one likes their gender being mistaken. Would you like it if someone called you a guy?"

She shook her head. "But that's the thing. I have the parts to prove I am what I am. Now you Cloud, are you a man? Or are you really a flat-chested girl who likes to cross-dress?" she patted my back.

I stared at the floor with wide eyes, starting to feel overwhelmed by people's stares and comments. Why was it so hard to believe I was a boy? Maybe I need to grow a beard, or show up one day naked. Something.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

I barged into Leon's office. His chair was turned over, and I couldn't see his body. I raced toward his desk, slamming my hands down on it. "Leon, you never told me that when I came back, I would come to this hellhole. What's going on? Why does everyone assume I'm a female?"

"Aren't you, Cloud?" a familiar voice asked, and the chair wheeled around, revealing a not-amused Rufus glaring back at me, his hands folded on his crossed legs with an earpiece clipped to his ear.

I gasped. "You're... not..."

"Your boss, or should I say 'roommate'? I know." He leaned in. "Let me get things straight here for you, Cloud. I'm going to tell you this and I'm going to tell you this once. You might want to write this down." He cleared his throat.

"You _will not_._ Ever_. Go back to Squall's home and have sex with him. And you _may not_. _Ever_. Lie to him that you love him. _Ever again_. You _must_ withdraw yourself from his life as none other than a worker of his, do you understand me? Shall I speak French for you?" He told me bluntly.

I blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"French it is then," he stated. He flashed a fake smile. "_Vous devez vous retirer de sa vie comme rien d'autre qu'un travailleur de son._"

I shook my head. "I got you said! I just don't understand how you could tell me to do such a thing. And to think that I was lying when I told him I loved him? Just who do you think you are?"

He extended his arms arm in the air, continuing to smile that waxy smile. "I'm Rufus Shinra, soon changed the name to Rufus Apple. I own one of the biggest companies in the world, and your class is about the worth of a gum wrapper I disposed a while ago."

I pursed my lips. "If you think you can tell me what to do-"

"Think? Mr. Strife, _I know_. And this is just a warning. If you like being in one piece-"

"_Is that a threat?_" I confronted with gritted teeth, speaking lower.

He leaned in closer to my face, smirking. "_It's an order._"

I slowly shook my head. "I'm not scared of you. And you fix this mess you created about me being a woman!"

"What's there to fix when it's nothing but the truth?" He held up some clothes. It was an extremely short maid outfit. He smirked even wider. "I'm filling in for your boss today. He's out somewhere very important. And my first order for you is to wear this all day and listen to any order a man tells you. _Any man._"

I crossed my arms, holding my ground. "I'm not putting that shit on. It's degrading, and I don't play dress-up."

His face immediately transitioned to serious. "I'm glad that you think you have a choice here, but perhaps I need to clarify things. You put it on, or this very embarrassing and revealing video of you gets sent out to the world in a matter of three seconds."

I dryly laughed. "Like you can play mind games with lies like that?"

"I'm very sure Squall doesn't like videos of himself playing with his workers at night to get out to the media. He might even get angry." Rufus's face slowly broke out into a Cheshire Cat-styled grin.

I widened my eyes. "How do you-"

"Put. The outfit. On."

"..."

He tilted his head. "Shall I speak in French again for you?"

I pursed my lips and grabbed it out of his hands.

He pointed to a corner. "You forgot the rest of the outfit."

I looked over and saw a pair of heels, a headband, and a blonde wig.

Oh hell no.

_Meanwhile..._

"Oh hell yes!" a man shouted out. "It's about time you came out! I was wondering why I was so attracted to you and I know I'm not gay. As soon as I found out you were a girl, I felt so relieved. So he said I can ask you to do anything, huh?" the man asked, reading the letter every male worker received.

I sighed, groaning and trying to keep my position still. I was forced to keep one hand on my hip and the other holding a tray full of letters for the workers that didn't receive it. This dress was extremely short, to the point where it was stopping just a bit below my butt. These heels were unnecessarily high and I couldn't walk in them. The wig kept getting in my face and this make-up was obnoxious.

I glanced over at the man's table. His name was Saix Fuji.

Saix grinned and placed the letter on his desk. "So, pretty girl, what do you think I should make you do today?"

"How about free me from my misery and let me take this off, agreeing that we'll never speak of this again?" I mumbled. But of course, that's not going to happen.

Saix licked his lips. "Those lips of yours look capable of so much. It's too bad I can only have you do one thing and be forced to pass you on." He grinned, leaning back on his chair and patting his lap. "I got it. How about you come sit on my lap and give me a kiss?"

I gulped, my face turning red as I shook it quickly. "No, I, uh... don't think I can do that."

"I believe the letter said _anything_, Ms. Strife. So how about you do as I asked or I'll let Mr. Apple know?" He patted his lap again.

Rufus knew these horny men would do this to me. I bet you he was plotting something. I just don't know what.

I sighed and gently put the tray down on his desk. "Mr. Fuji, please. Can't I do something else?"

He shook his head. "I've been dreaming of a kiss from you for a _long_ time. No way I'm turning it down now."

"But don't you want one that's _voluntary_?"

"I don't care how I get it! A kiss is a kiss."

I gulped, placing one leg after the other over his lap, and placing my arms around his neck to steady myself. I stared at him with a slightly queasy face. Saix licked his lips, and then puckered them and closed his eyes, waiting for me.

I cringed.

"I'm waiting, Ms. Strife. And it better be at least ten seconds long with some nice tongue action involved. I want to get a nice taste of those beautiful lips of yours."

I widened my eyes. For once, I wished I was ugly so this guy would stop bothering me. But Rufus knew that my looks can work against me as well. Damn it, he was proving to be smarter and smarter.

Slowly, I leaned in, and forced myself to kiss him, wincing. He eventually pried my mouth open with his, and his tongue eagerly explored my mouth. I wanted to puke. But I silently counted out the seconds. 7, 8...

He moaned, and slapped his hand down on my thigh, slowly moving upwards. I grabbed it, pushing it off.

"Ten seconds, Mr. Fuji. Show's over," I happily reminded, and got up from his lap. I sat back down again, smirking. "Oh and Mr. Fuji, you said you were attracted to me, correct?" I asked.

He nodded like an idiot.

"Then you're gay," I flat out told him.

He rolled his eyes. "You're a girl. I'm not gay."

"No." I took his hand and lifted my skirt. His face lit up, watching as I placed his hand on my dick. He widened his eyes, his face cringing into disturbance. I smirked again. "You're gay."

And I took my tray and truly left, hoping he would spread the word. Unfortunately, he never did.

All day was disturbing. I was asked to do lap dances, belly dance, sing to people, even suck dick. But as soon as that request popped out, I took off my shoes and pranced out the front door of the institute, deciding this wasn't worth my time. Rufus can throw whatever he can at me. But I refuse to suck an old guy's wrinkly penis. I've already sucked two in my life already, and that's much too many.

When I came home, I threw my bag on the large expensive couch and plopped down on it, crying from the embarrassment I had to take today. The maids looked at me in pity. After all, they've come to like me. But I didn't feel like talking or explaining anything. So I simply ignored them.

Leon came scrambling home, a laptop in his hand. He immediately propped down on the table across the room and opened it, staring at the screen intently. It took him a few moments, but he finally noticed the sounds of someone crying.

He looked over and saw me hugging my knees on the couch, bawling my water supply out. Leon walked over to me and gently pulled me in a hug. "It's okay," he comforted. "Whatever happened... it's okay."

"He humiliated me, Leon. I don't wanna go back. Ever!" I cried, burying my face in my hands.

Leon gave me a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

I looked up and grabbed his collar, pulling him close to my face. "Tell me right now, and be completely honest. Do I look like a girl? And if so, if you didn't know me and you saw me on the street somewhere, would you assume I was a flat-chested girl simply cross-dressing?"

He blinked. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Just answer me!" I cried.

He sighed. "Well, to be honest... you kind of look like a girl. But I wouldn't think you were actually one if I didn't know you. Cloud... am I sensing a bit of insecurity here?" he asked, looking into m eyes.

_"You wanna try out for baseball? Oh please, we don't allow chicks here. Can he even pick up the bat?" a high school jockey retorted. The whole team laughed._

_"No girls allowed!" an elementary school kid screamed at an elementary Cloud._

_"I'm sorry, Cloud, but I don't think the boy's bathroom is where you belong..." the principal mistaken on the first day of school for Cloud._

_"I use to dress you up and treat you like a girl when you were a baby. I'm sorry, but you just looked so much like one!" Cloud's mother giggled._

_"He's too pretty to be a boy. Hey! Let's call him Pretty Boy!"_

_"Hey Pretty Boy!"_

_"Pretty Boy, you gonna draw me a unicorn now?"_

_"Pretty Boy...GROW A DICK!"_

I flinched, the bad memories soaking back into me. Rufus made me dress up like a girl on purpose. He knew that was a sensitive part about me that I didn't like people touching. And he went ahead and played with it to his content, just to piss me off.

I released Leon and looked down, a tear falling from my eye. "I'm sorry. I guess... I guess I can't learn to accept what nature did to me."

Leon brushed his thumb against my cheek, wiping the tear away. He held my chin up and smiled. "You're beautiful in every way, even when you cry. I wouldn't change a thing about you. Every feature on you suits you, and that's the way it should be. It's what makes you unique. It's what makes you Cloud."

I sniffed. He leaned in and kissed me, and I kindly accepted it.

**Rufus**

I groaned. Oh Lord, why is this taking so long? Nothing breaks them? Nothing?! This is impossible, this is preposterous, this is debauchery, this is... ugh! I crossed my arms, not wanting to look at disappointment I was forced to call my partner.

"Well, you have any ideas? You better make some fast before I resort to our last option," I reminded. I was desperate. I felt like I was falling behind to second place, and success doesn't come to leftovers.

Sephiroth gulped. "I don't have any ideas."

I snapped my fingers, smiling. "Let's rape him, videotape it like he did it voluntarily, and show it to Squall. Hopefully Squall will become hurt that Cloud was cheating on him, come back with me, and our partnership will then flourish."

"W're not raping him," Sephiroth mumbled.

I groaned. "Then how about you trick him into thinking you two did it? Leave a nasty message on Squall's phone or something and give him the wrong impression. It'll take off from there." I widened my eyes, grinning. That's a perfect idea.

Sephiroth nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

I handed him my phone and dialed Squall's voicemail box for his home phone.

"It's all yours," I laughed.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Quick word of advice needed here. My boyfriend won't answer any of my calls for about two weeks now. He hasn't been showing up to class either, and people say he hasn't been in his dorm for a while. Should I worry? I'm getting really scared now. So scared I couldn't update this for a while. *bites on nails* **

**But yeah, I just want to know if this is a problem. .**

**But anyway, back to the story guys. Thanks for the reviews. I read them all. WindWisp, keep rocking you and your amazingly psychotic plans. ;) **

**As for Xonume, everyone loves a good cliffhanger. ;D**

**But yeah. I'm done here. Sowwy for the long wait. My professors aren't always in the greatest moods when it comes to essays. #TheCollegeStruggle**

**But luckily, my break starts June 30th! **

**Oh, and I heard you Floridians get out _pretty_ early, around the beginning of June, I think.**

**Lucky bastards. **

**And always...**

**Enjoy! :) **

* * *

**Cloud**

I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I could feel the morning sun shining into my face from the red rays I could see under my eyelids. I slowly opened them and noticed I was in Leon's bedroom. Two arms suddenly wrapped around me. I couldn't help but smile.

"Morning," Leon whispered, kissing the spot directly behind my ear.

I giggled and turned to him. "Morning," I replied.

How did I ever live without this man? I feel like we were meant for each other. This was meant to be. Just going hours without him makes my life feel empty. Waking up with Leon right next to me is the best feeling I could ever have.

I gave him a kiss on the lips, gradually turning to a deeper one.

"Mmm... morning sex?" he laughed.

I playfully growled and crawled on top of him.

Later on that morning we managed to crawl out of bed and have some coffee and a bagel at the kitchen table, something we enjoyed sharing every morning. Once we finished, he broke out into the standard routine: shower, dress, watch the news for a couple of minutes, I hand him another coffee, kiss goodbye, and he grabs his briefcase.

"I love you," I mumbled.

"I love you more," he replied, and kissed me one last time before stepping into an Acura, and drove off. I sighed with a smile on my face, full of pure joy. A maid walked up to me. "Mr. Strife, sir, is there anything I can help you with today?" a sweet African woman asked me.

"No," I cooed, jumping into a couch and sinking in its softness.

I decided to call up some best friends of mine. I was bored, and I desperately needed some human association.

~~~~Cleon~~~~

"So you're telling me... you guys are a thing now?" I confirmed, pointing to the both of them. Axel and Zack glanced at each other quickly, smiles on their faces, and they took each other's hand.

"You bet," Zack affirmed.

"And I'm the last to know?!" I exclaimed. I squealed. "Oh my gosh... you know what this means? We should go on double dates or something! Or a party! Yeah, a party!"

"I think I like the double date idea better, mate..." Axel mumbled.

"Gives people a chance to know each other better," Zack mumbled sweetly, Axel grinning and lightly nudging him to the side. I couldn't help but smile myself. Forget about me being the last to know. This night was about them. And then it hit me. I couldn't do anything tonight. I had plans.

I groaned. "Oh wait, we can't do it tonight. Leon has his national business meeting and I promised I would be there with him. It's a custom to bring your partner there or something."

They both shrugged, not realizing they were cuddling with each other again. "It's totally fine," Zack assured.

I smirked and stood up from my seat. "I feel like I'm invading, so I'm just gonna leave you two tall and beautiful lovebirds to yourselves." I glanced at my watch. "I suppose it's getting late. Leon should be home in about half an hour."

Zack grinned and stood up with me. "Good news... we won't be giving you a ride back."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why...?"

This time, it was Axel's turn to grin. "Because we found your car!"

And sure enough, they did. The same sports car that Zack got me, that same Chevy, was sitting in the parking lot, staring at me, just waiting for me to drive it back home with me. With tears of happiness, I jumped up(literally) and hugged the both of them. "Thank you guys so much!" I wiped my face, feeling pathetic. "How did you get this back?"

"Axel knows some people," Zack cooed, pointing to him. Axel winked, telling me he has a bit of a dark side himself.

"I love you guys," I said again, hugging them again.

* * *

When I pulled up to the garage, I noticed that it was still open, showcasing all 23 top model cars Leon owned, including one that he was still sitting it, just staring at the wheel. I sighed and stepped out, walking over to the car and tapping the window. He looked up at me.

I sheepishly smiled. "Wanna let me in?"

Before I knew it, I was inside the car with him, both of us just staring at the windshield, still clueless why he was doing this. I slowly turned to him, gazing at the profile of his face. It was perfect. Absolutely no imperfection in sight. He was biting down on his jaw, so his lower jaw bone was protruding at such a perfect angle... and to think he never had any plastic surgery.

"What's wrong, Leon?" I asked softly.

He kept staring at the windshield. But his eyes hesitated. "Sometimes I just feel like... dropping everything. Leaving everything behind, and just take off and be somewhere I can relax. No stress, just...peace."

I slowly nodded.

He turned to me, his blistering blue eyes staring into me. They were so alarming and beautiful... like glass holding water.

"Why do you feel this way?"

He sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Everything. Press has been on me lately... Rufus has been acting strange... and then the constant fear of me losing you one day." He looked down at his hands.

I smiled lightly. "Why would you fear losing me? I'm right here."

"But for how long, Cloud?" he asked me. "How long are you going to be here right next to me? What if things crash and I lose everything? Or you die, or you fall in love with someone else? I'm not perfect, as you can see."

"I just don't get it, Leon. There are people dying out there to be you. As handsome and successful as _you_! Of all people, why are you so low in self-esteem?"

"I don't know, really..." he mumbled.

I lightly stroked his arm. "Well I'm right here. And I always will be."

"Promise?" he asked me.

"Promise," I confirmed right away. I leaned over and gave him a kiss. Fortunately, it brought a light smile to his face. "Now come on, don't we have a meeting to get ready for?"

**Leon**

"You ready?" I asked Cloud, looking him over. He looked fantastic and sharp, as usual. "People can be awfully judgmental in there. And will use rudeness to cover it up. It's all about survival of the most clever. Now that you're aware of this, are you truly ready?"

Cloud took a deep breath, then nodded. On that note, a man opened the doors for us and we casually strolled inside, letting Cloud take in the huge ballroom that was set up to look like one big fancy dinner party. And as usual, everyone was dressed to impress.

"It's so fancy... I feel overwhelmed..." Cloud mumbled, looking around nervously.

"Eh, it looks the same as last year." He looked up at me in confusion. "The only difference is that I'm attending it with a different, better man." I winked at him, which in turn made him blush. It always brought a smile on my face to see Cloud blush. It usually meant he was content.

Everyone gawked at us, and eyes lingered around Cloud. I knew the rumors, and I knew what they were thinking. I just chose to let it slide. After all, as long as I knew the truth, was it really that much of a problem?

An Asian woman with a bright smile walked up to me and shook my hand firmly. "Mr. Leonhart, very pleased to meet you! I'm Sandra Wu, head business CEO with the people who actually produce your products?"

I smiled warmly. "Really? Nice to meet you too."

"I see you brought your..." she eyed me carefully, wanting to be correct with whatever pronoun she was about to choose.

"Boyfriend," I answered, bringing Cloud closer to me. His cheeks lightly tinted and he bit his bottom lip.

Sandra extended her hand towards Cloud. "Pleasure to meet you..."

"Cloud Strife," he said quietly. I never realized how shy he actually was in public. Or perhaps he was nervous around the new crowd of people he's never met before. A party of three, two women and a male, walked up to us, fake smiles on their face. I glanced around to get a a scope of why so many people suddenly wanted to come greet me, and sure enough, Rufus was waiting next to a bar table, a drink in his hand, and a smirk on his face, giving me direct contact. What did he do now?

"Why hello darling," a lady with tiny wrinkles trying to come out of the corner of her eyes said, holding her hand out to me. I raised my eyebrow at her, but she kept it there expectantly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and gave her hand a quick kiss. She smiled and pretended to fan herself. It was obvious she's had many Botox surgeries, and her breasts looked way to perky for her age. The other woman had a cake-load of make-up on her face and overly plump lips, while the last guy looked like a genuine douchebag.

"Well if it isn't the lovely tall dark and handsome Squall Leonhart!" the other cake-faced lady exclaimed, a fake smile also on her face. She suddenly turned to Cloud and acted as if he didn't see him there. "Why hello!"

Cloud slowly nodded, acknowledging their presence, something they didn't do.

"So this is your new lover, isn't it?" the man asked.

The Botox lady smirked. "Oh I can't take it. Is it true?" she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

Both Cloud and I exchanged confused faces. "What's true?" I asked.

Her overly prestigious voice sounded a couple decibels louder, as if she wanted people to hear it. "I hear your boyfriend here, what is it... Sky or something?"

"Cloud..." Cloud corrected.

"Well Cloud, is a cross-dresser. Is it true? Aren't you gay though? Why would you date a cross-dresser?"

The other lady joined in, people starting to listen. I glanced over at Rufus. His smirk was bigger and he was continuously sipping his drink to avoid my eye contact.

"Have you two engaged in intercourse, yet? I mean,_ surely_ you've realized that this... _person_ is a woman, haven't you? She's merely a flat-chested woman who feels she looks better as a man." The all lightly laughed to themselves.

I nervously peered down at Cloud, not sure of what to say. If I overly defend him, people might get suspicious. If I don't defend him, Cloud might get angry.

"Well then, you've caught me! I'm a flat-chested woman who likes men clothes!" Cloud exclaimed sarcastically. The three gasped, holding their hands to their mouths in shock, not believing what they were hearing.

"You mean it is true?!" the man asked.

"But you know one thing that separates you and I?" Cloud asked, stepping closer to the woman.

"What? The fact that I embrace my gender?" More laughter.

Cloud smiled. "No. The fact that my flat-chested self has confidence in my flat-chest. I mean, _I'm_ not the one who went out and got surgery to fix my missing vanity. After all, silicone bags don't fix your esteem, _darling_."

The woman gasped and turned around, stomping away, mortified at Cloud calling her out like that. The other two followed her. Cloud immediately grabbed a drink from a moving waiter and gulped down the whole glass on wine.

"Cloud, you alright?" I asked.

"Just perfect..." he mumbled.

I turned and faced him face-to-face. "Cloud, you don't have to do this. I can take you home right now, no biggy."

He shook his head and smiled. "Nah, I'm gonna embrace this. Put my best foot forward, you know?"

I smiled along with him and stroked his cheek with my thumb. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Rufus suddenly walked up to us, two men behind him. He had a huge fake smile on his face(something everyone had on here) and two drinks. He handed both of us one. "Why hello Squall! The other one..." he mumbled. Cloud groaned and accepted the drink, taking it in.

"Oh careful there. The drinks here are very strong. Wouldn't want to look like a pig, right? Not that you don't already look like one, but it's worth a shot," Rufus mocked. Cloud blushed and pulled the drink away from his lips. "You've been Ben and Jerry right? They're my new friends." Rufus pointed to the two very tall and buff guys behind him.

"What do you want, Rufus?" I asked dryly, not ready to put up with his bullshit.

"Why else would I come here? To talk to you! You know, relinquish the old times?"

Cloud suddenly clutched his head. "Oh... I think I need to go to the restroom."

Rufus smirked. "You do? Well please, be my guest."

"You alright?" I asked Cloud. He nodded. "Straight down on your right," I told him. He nodded and walked off. I turned to Rufus. "Listen, I think he needs me-"

"Oh he'll be fine. Ben, Jerry, why don't you go help Mr. Strife out in the bathroom, yeah?" They both left and followed Cloud.

Rufus instantly turned serious. "Listen, Squall. Apple has been declared bankrupt. If we don't join this partnership again, then my company will be ruined and..."

"You'll go broke?" I asked, somehow not pitying him in all this. It's called karma.

"Listen, Squall... maybe we should give our whole relationship thing another chance, yeah? I feel like we didn't give it enough time-"

"Rufus, I'm done with you. I've moved on to a much better person. One that I actually love. And he loves me back. And you know what? He doesn't just want my money. He wants my respect, which he's earned. You and your business are on their own. But you're no longer my problem."

"Squall... you don't know what you're doing..." Rufus warned calmly. For once, his voice didn't sound sweet, but rather scary. It had me taken aback. But I didn't change.

"Good luck, Rufus," I mumbled, and I walked away to wherever, just to get away from this man.

**Cloud**

I burst into the bathroom, walking over to the sink and clutching my head. I had a sudden headache, and my stomach felt rather upset. Maybe it was the drinks. I knew I shouldn't have drank them.

But hey. YOLO.

Ben and Jerry decided to follow me into the bathroom, and stood next to the door, crossing their arms and eyeing me down. I nervously looked away, deciding whether I should be alarmed, scared, curious, or all of the above.

"Hi..." I mumbled, not giving them direct eye contact.

They turned to each other then back to me. "You Cloud Strife?"

I hesitated, not sure if I should answer. I decided to stay quiet.

"Guessing by your quietness, you are."

"We have specific instructions on what to do with you," the other man said.

"Really? Like what?" I asked nervously, slowly backing up.

One pulled out a baseball bat and the other pulled out a large garbage bag. I gasped and screamed as they ran toward me.

_Meanwhile..._

**Leon**

"You heard that?" I asked, alerted by the scream. Everyone in the ballroom was alarmed, looking around to see who screamed. I looked around the room, trying to pick out a familiar face. Rufus was not in sight.

And neither was Cloud.

"Cloud?" I asked. "Cloud?" I asked again, getting louder each time. I turned to the direction of the bathrooms and noticed Rufus making his way there, a cell phone on his ear and two other men with him. I widened my eyes and pushed through the large crowd, trying to make my way there. This didn't feel right.

**Cloud**

My head was shoved inside the bag. They pushed the rest of my body effortlessly in it, and sealed it shut. I gasped, frantically stretching and trying to pop the bag open. There was no holes, it was a sealed back, and this was making me nervous.

I screamed even louder.

I heard the sound of the bathroom door open. "You shut up!" Rufus screamed, and I felt a foot kick me in my stomach. I immediately coughed up blood. I screamed again, desperately wanting someone to hear me.

"Give me the bat... you guys don't do it right," Rufus mumbled, and he hit me on my hip hard. I screamed in pain, and he hit me again. He couldn't see where he was hitting, because I was in the bag. And that made it so much worse.

"You shut up or I'll kill you!" Rufus shouted.

"What's going on? What are you doing to me? Why am I in this bag?" I asked. I felt like some bones have already been broken or sprained, as my leg had sharp pain going on from my calve to my ankle.

"Behave and it'll all work out," Rufus answered, his voice sounding like a crazy lunatic for the first time. There was a pound on the bathroom door. Yes. Someone's come to help me. "If he does anything stupid, you know what to do." And I heard Rufus's footsteps move away.

**Leon**

"What the hell is going on, Rufus? The whole place is worried," I shouted, banging on the locked door. "Open the door!"

"I'm only rearranging fate into my hands, Squall. I gave you your chance, and you chose wrong. Now it's my turn," Rufus screamed from behind the door.

I banged on the door even harder. "What are you talking about?" I turned to the crowd. "Somebody call the police." I frantically looked around. "Has anyone seen Cloud?"

Instead of people trying to help, they ended up running out of the ballroom to escape the situation while they can. All but Sandra Wu. She ran over to me. "I can call the cops. You said Cloud is missing, correct?"

"Yes," I confirmed. She started to dial them. "Thank you," I told her.

"Ugh, the lines won't get through. It seems like someone's jamming the signal. I got to step out and try to reach another one."

"But the bathroom-"

"Whoever's in there has to-"

There was a sound of glass breaking, and another scream. I widened my eyes. "You have to help me break the door!"

"Break the door? It's made of pure steel hinges, Mr. Leonhart!"

"You don't understand, Ms. Wu. The love of my life is possibly in danger and... I don't know what I would do without him. You don't understand."

Sandra stared at me for a moment, then nodded. She kicked off her heels and changed into flats. Both of us looked around the room for solid objects, but the strongest we found were tables. She turned to me. "We're going to need help."

"But we have no signal!" I reminded her. I ran my hand through my hair. Cloud, I do hope that wherever you are right now, you're all right.

"Sandra... I love him," I repeated, closing my eyes.

She took a deep breath, grabbed a table, and gestured for me to come over to her. "On three..."

Once she counted, we both ran towards the door and banged the table against it, but the door didn't move. I gasped and widened my eyes, turning to Sandra. "Axel!" I exclaimed.

"Who?" she asked.

"He can pick stuff and maneuver his way through many things. If we need to get help, he's the help to get."

Sandra nodded. "We're gonna need to travel a bit to find some signal."

I thought about it, then nodded.

"Great! We can take my car. It's fast."

"Chevy?"

"Porsche," she corrected boldly. I shrugged and followed her, taking one glance back at the bathroom, and then continuing my path.

Cloud, please... stay strong.


End file.
